# How does the Earth's magnetic field protect us from Gamma rays

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-protect-us-from-gamma-rays/972651>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 3, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-protect-us-from-gamma-rays/972651 "2022-10-03T18:09:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-protect-us-from-gamma-rays/972651/1 "2022-10-03T18:09:53Z")

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…since as far as I remember Gamma rays being neutrally charged are unaffected by magnetic fields.

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-protect-us-from-gamma-rays/972651/2 "2022-10-03T18:31:30Z")

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Are you sure you don’t mean Cosmic rays?  
Because, those are high-velocity nuclei, and carry a strong positive charge.

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-protect-us-from-gamma-rays/972651/3 "2022-10-03T18:59:15Z")

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Agreed beowulff. If we every got hit by a gamma ray burst we are toast.

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-protect-us-from-gamma-rays/972651/4 "2022-10-03T19:08:49Z")

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Maybe, maybe not:

> **[Gamma-ray burst | Effects on Earth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst#Effects_on_Earth)**
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> Earth's atmosphere is very effective at absorbing high energy electromagnetic radiation such as x-rays and gamma rays, so these types of radiation would not reach any dangerous levels at the surface during the burst event itself. The immediate effect on life on Earth from a GRB within a few kiloparsecs would only be a short increase in ultraviolet radiation at ground level, lasting from less than a second to tens of seconds. This ultraviolet radiation could potentially reach dangerous levels depe...

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-protect-us-from-gamma-rays/972651/5 "2022-10-03T21:46:45Z")

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On the other hand: When a charged particle (such as a high-energy proton) hits the upper atmosphere, it produces a shower of all sorts of other particles, including gamma-energy photons. I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of “gamma rays from space” are the result of this, and you can prevent those if you deflect the original charged particle.