Hi Bob, On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 7:15 AM, Bob Cook <[email protected]> wrote:
I agree with your thought about the role of isomers in the natural > abundance of elements. I think you accidentally mistook the quote I was quoting from Harry's article for something I myself said. I was asking for clarification of what they were saying. Isomers are what makes nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) a valuable tool. > The idea is that a nucleus is excited to an elevated “isomeric” energy > state by a RESONANT radio frequency input energy in a magnetic field and > then decays back to its initial “ground state'’ or some other ground state > not the same as the original state. Forgive my ignorance -- when we talk about NMR, I think of polarization of nuclei with nonzero spin in an external field using radiowaves or microwaves. When I think of an isomer, I think of a nuclear isomer, in which the nucleons in a nucleus are in a configuration that lies keV or MeV above the ground state. I don't think radiowaves or microwaves can do anything to populate or depopulate these states; or am I mistaken? A question I have about the nuclear isomerism referred to in the opinion piece has to do with its potential utility. It seems like it would at best be good as a battery, or, possibly, a bomb. Eric
