Charge States of $^{229m}$Th: Path to Finding the Half-Life

$^{229}$Th nuclei created from the alpha decay of $^{233}$U were studied using the Time of Flight (TOF) technique by measuring the time difference between alpha particle detection by a silicon detector and $^{229}$Th recoil nuclei detection by a multi-channel plate detector (MCP). The experiments proved that the recoiling $^{229}$Th nuclei were produced in the 1$+$ and greater charge states. This implies that $^{229m}$Th will decay by bound internal conversion, emitting photons that can be detected to measure the half-life of this isomeric state, which is currently unknown. The charge states were observed by measuring the TOF of nuclei coming from an electroplated $^{233}$U (0.2 $\mu $Ci, areal density 0.006 mg/cm$^{2})$ source in vacuum.