Gamma ray spectrometer

A gamma ray spectrometer is like a special camera that takes pictures of really tiny particles called "gamma rays". Gamma rays are like invisible rays of light that come from things like rocks and soil.

The spectrometer works kind of like a detective. It looks at each gamma ray that it sees and asks, "Where did you come from?" By looking at the energy of the gamma ray, the spectrometer can figure out what kind of material it came from.

Imagine you have a toy box with different toys in it. When you shake the box, some toys will make a loud noise and others will make a quiet noise. The spectrometer works similarly by measuring the "loudness" or energy of each gamma ray. By doing this, it can tell if the gamma ray came from something like potassium or uranium, which are both found in rocks and soil.

Scientists use gamma ray spectrometers to explore rocks and soil on Earth, as well as planets like Mars. They can learn a lot about what is inside of these materials by using this special camera.