Bob, I would expect the linear momentum to be conserved if the nucleus receives a kick in the opposite direction to a single gamma. Dual gammas could balance each other if emitted in opposite directions.
Dave -----Original Message----- From: Bob Cook <frobertc...@hotmail.com> To: vortex-l <vortex-l@eskimo.com> Sent: Thu, May 15, 2014 8:38 pm Subject: Re: [Vo]:Nuclear isomer Robin-- You stated: >>>Different combinations of spin states show up as excited states of the nucleus. Usually these relax to the ground state in short order with emission of a gamma ray.<<< How do spin states with no kinetic energy relax to a ground state with a gamma ray emission with both angular momentum (spin) and kinetic energy (linear momentum)? Where does the linear momentum come from? You raise the question: When does linear momentum need to be conserved? Is it conserved in nuclear transitions? Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: <mix...@bigpond.com> To: <vortex-l@eskimo.com> Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 2:50 PM Subject: Re: [Vo]:Nuclear isomer In reply to David Roberson's message of Wed, 14 May 2014 18:18:23 -0400 (EDT): Hi, [snip] >Much depends upon how the reaction energy is stored within the nucleus. >Does anyone recall seeing good evidence that it is stored as spin energy of >the nucleons? Large nuclei such as nickel likely have much of the energy >hidden within the distribution of the protons and neutrons that can take on >different forms. Helium or deuteron are too simple to have these sinks as >far as I know. I am not aware of the possible distributions and magnitudes >of spin energy storage but that dovetails nicely with our thoughts about >interaction with large magnetic fields. > >Dave Different combinations of spin states show up as excited states of the nucleus. Usually these relax to the ground state in short order with emission of a gamma ray. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
