Gamma decay is the third type of radioactive decay. Unlike the two other types of decay, it does not involve a change in the element. It is just a simple decay from an excited to a lower (ground) stat...Gamma decay is the third type of radioactive decay. Unlike the two other types of decay, it does not involve a change in the element. It is just a simple decay from an excited to a lower (ground) state. In the process of course some energy is released that is carried away by a photon. Similar processes occur in atomic physics, however there the energy changes are usually much smaller, and photons that emerge are in the visible spectrum or x-rays.
