Rudolf Mössbauer discovered that some gamma ray emission and absorption events in a solid occur without changing the crystal's phonon state. The momentum can then be transferred to the whole lattice, with an effective recoil energy far smaller than for a free nucleus. This permits extremely narrow nuclear emission and absorption lines to overlap, producing the Mössbauer effect. The narrow resonance makes very small energy shifts observable, including shifts due to the local electronic and magnetic environment of a nucleus.[ref]
A physicist.[ref]
https://www.nobelprize.org/laureate/76. Independent professional profile
[ref]https://www.e15.ph.tum.de/staff/professors/prof_moessbauer/index.html. Independent professional profile
Portrait of Rudolf Mössbauer
. Unknown photographer; The Big T 1962, California Institute of Technology yearbook; existing Commons extract. Commons PD-US-no-notice claim: US publication during 1931–1977 without notice. Other jurisdictions may retain protection., via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
Rudolf Mössbauer was a German physicist best known for the discovery of the Mössbauer effect, a physical phenomenon involving the recoil-free emission and absorption of gamma rays by atomic nuclei. This effect, which he discovered in 1958, allows for extremely precise measurements of nuclear energy levels and has important applications in various fields, including physics, chemistry, and biology.
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