| MadSci Network: Physics |
Hello! You actually ask two questions here, so let me first answer your main question: What can be used to reflect gamma rays? High energy physicists continue to work on this problem even today. It *is* possible to reflect gamma rays, but more often than not, gamma rays interact with the mirror itself and are changed in the process through Compton scattering or photoionization. As far as *how* a gamma ray mirror could be constructed, I would imagine that a number of techniques could be borrowed from gamma rays' near wavelegth neighbor, x-rays. First of all, a material which gamma rays could not penetrate would need to be found. Once this material was discovered, it could be applied to the "mirror" in a thin film. Thin films are used for UV mirrors all the time (and UV is x-rays' other wavelength neighbor), but the catch is that for x-rays, the light has to hit the mirror at a grazing angle (not straight on) or it will interact with the material in the mirror regardless of the thin film. I hope this helps! You might try either of the following links as a good starting point for further information... http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/how_l1/xray_telescopes.html http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/how_l1/gamma_detectors.html
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