Nuclear isomer

Imagine you have a bunch of tiny balls that are so small you can't even see them without a special microscope. These balls are inside of a box and they move around really fast. The box is called a nucleus and the balls are called atoms.

Now, sometimes these balls can get stuck in different positions inside the nucleus, kind of like how your toys can get stuck in different places in your toy box. When the balls get stuck in a certain position, it's called an isomer.

Nuclear isomers happen when one of the balls, called a neutron, gets stuck in a different position than usual inside the nucleus. This can happen when the neutron gets hit by something else really fast, like a particle accelerator.

These nuclear isomers can have different energy levels and can stay stuck in that position for a long time, sometimes even years! Scientists study nuclear isomers to learn more about how atoms work and to develop new technologies like radiation therapy for cancer.