Mossbauer Effect how does it work?

[edpell]

I know what the Mossbauer effect is. I know the crystal as a whole accepts the recoil not just the atom emitting the gamma ray. But the gamma emission is a fast nuclear event say 1E-22 seconds. The distance, in terms of time, to the nearest neighbor atom is 3E-19 seconds not to mention the distance, in terms of time, to an atom 100 unit cells away is 3E-17 seconds. It would seem the momentum would have to be transferred faster than the speed of light. How does this work?

 

[Bill_K]

Well, I think the explanation is that the emitting atom sits in a preexisting electrostatic potential, and its recoil pushes against that, as a local interaction. It's true the recoil eventually has to be imparted to the other atoms through a readjustment of the electrostatic field, but this does not have to take place at the moment the gamma ray is emitted.