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Short Answer:
Gamma rays go through most light materials, such as plastic, building materials and are effectively diminished by heavier materials such as lead. It depends on the energy of the gamma ray, but the amount of radiation can often be cut in half by one centimeter thickness of a heavy metal. One centimeter of plastic or wood does not stop more than a few percent of the radiation.
Specific Examples:
To a rough approximation, the mass density of the material determines how well it blocks gamma rays, not just the thickness. Lead has a density over 11 times greater than water, so one inch thickness of lead should be worth 11 inches for shielding gamma rays. In the table below, you can see lead actually does even better. The thickness necessary to reduce gamma radiation by half is listed with the density of the material in parentheses.
lead 1.0 cm (11.3 g/cm^3
steel 2.5 cm (7.86 g/cm^3
concrete 6 cm (3.33 g/cm^3
soil 9 cm (1.99 g/cm^3
water 18 cm (1 g/cm^3)
wood 302 cm (0.56 g/cm^3)
air 15000 cm (0.0012 g/cm^3)
Gamma rays can have any energy, so these numbers not equally good for all gamma rays, but work for the sort of radiation humans might encounter due to radioactivity on Earth.
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Damaging effects of alpha beta and gamma?
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Can air get through thin plastic?
yes it can if it is realy thin
Does alpha particles pass through the human body?
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Will plastic show an image during radiography?
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