Quantum nucleonics for the gamma-ray laser

Nuclear isomers can store vast amounts of energy, on the order of gigajoules/gram, for periods up to thousands of years. The release of this energy as a flash of induced electromagnetic emission at gamma-ray wavelengths would be of great technological importance. At the same time this would demonstrate the means for pumping a gamma-ray laser, the ultimate pulsed-power device. This article bridges the gap between the disciplines of nuclear physics and quantum electronics and reviews the interdisciplinary concepts of quantum nucleonics. Topics include the mechanism by which long-lived nuclear isomers occur, discussed in analogy to atomic systems, mixing of levels as a means of triggering electromagnetic emission from nuclei with x rays, and experimental results confirming such triggering.