Shears bands in the Pb region

The properties of the M1 bands in the Pb region are reviewed. They can be explained by ‘magnetic rotation’ which is a new concept in nuclear excitations. Spin and excitation energy along the bands are increased by the shears effect, a step-by-step alignment of large proton-particle and large neutron-hole spins into the direction of the total angular momentum. First evidence is presented for band termination connected with the closing of the shears.