Rudolf L. Mößbauer (1929 – 2011, Germany)
Rationale for the award: “for his researches concerning the resonance absorption of gamma radiation and his discovery in this connection of the effect which bears his name“
Born in Munich, and at the age of 32, the youngest Nobel Prize winner at the time, Mössbauer discovered the following phenomenon: If an atomic nucleus is held within a crystal, its absorbtion behaviour is different to when it is in a free state, and in accordance with the Doppler frequency shift, the nucleus displays a different spectral line pattern.