Mössbauer discovery experiment 2026-10-18
Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer found the effect during his Heidelberg work in 1957.[ref]
Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer, CV by Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. CV, opening paragraphs: Heidelberg discovery in 1957
His 1961 lecture Recoilless nuclear resonance absorption of gamma radiation describes crystalline preparations using the transition of the iridium isotope . Separate cryostats, lead collimation and a particle scintillation detector measured transmission. Liquid-air cooling of both preparations enhanced absorption; cooling only the source against a room-temperature absorber slightly reduced it. A rotating source cryostat supplied nearly constant projected velocities over selected arcs. Centimetres per second suppressed absorption relative to zero velocity; a nonresonant absorber supplied the comparison. This tested a narrow common emission/absorption energy beyond the detector's resolution. Temperature data alone had not established its width. The lecture cites the initial and direct-verification publications from 1958.[ref] Nobel Prize in Physics in 1961 2026-10-18
Awarded in equal shares to Robert Hofstadter for electron scattering studies of atomic nuclei and discoveries about nucleon structure, and Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer for resonance absorption of gamma rays and the Mössbauer effect.[ref]
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1961 by Nobel Prize Outreach. Both laureates, equal shares and separate prize motivations