The futility of observing stimulated gamma-ray emission from a long-lived isomeric state

We reveal the fallacies in recent gamma-ray laser schemes that propose to obtain gain by stimulating transitions from a long-lived upper to a short-lived lower nuclear state. We point out the errors in recent derivations of the stimulated-emission coefficients, derive the correct formulae, and submit an alternative explanation for an experiment purported to observe stimulated emission from a long-lived isomer.