Introduction to the Mössbauer Effect

At the present time there already exist a number of good introductions to the Mossbauer effect and its applications. There is, therefore, no need to write another, similar, paper, which would in large measure be a copy of earlier ones. In the present chapter we try to avoid this duplication by stressing the physical background and by giving the simplest possible pictures. These pictures may help in explaining the Mossbauer effect to nonphysicists, and they may even amuse some physicists.