A possibility of controlled variation of radioactive decay rate of atomic nuclei

An attempt of changing the radioactive decay rate of atomic nuclei due to interference of wave functions of the initial nucleus and nuclei identical to radioactive decay products has been made. The first experiments have been performed with ²¹²Po undergoing α decay with a half-life of 0.3 μs. For ²¹²Po implanted into natural metallic lead, the increase in the decay rate by ～0.2%, as compared to the decay rate of ²¹²Po in nickel, has been registered.