When the 57Co nucleus
decays into 57Fe, it emits a 14.4 keV photon that causes significant
recoil in the emitting nucleus. The energy of the
emitted gamma ray is reduced by this recoil energy. However, if the Cobalt
is placed in a crystalline lattice that meets certain conditions, this
recoil can be prevented entirely, and photons with incredibly precise
energies can be generated. In this experiment,
students use the phenomenon of Resonance Fluorescense and the Doppler
shift to explore these highly accurated photons.
Download: Mossbauer.pdf |