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Quantum Physics For Dummies, Revised Edition
book

Quantum Physics For Dummies, Revised Edition

by Steve Holzner
January 2013
Beginner to intermediate content levelBeginner to intermediate
336 pages
5h 35m
English
For Dummies
Content preview from Quantum Physics For Dummies, Revised Edition

Chapter 6

Getting Dizzy with Spin

In This Chapter

arrow Discovering spin with the Stern-Gerlach experiment

arrow Looking at eigenstates and spin notation

arrow Understanding fermions and bosons

arrow Comparing the spin operators with angular momentum operators

arrow Working with spin 1/2 and Pauli matrices

Physicists have suggested that orbital angular momentum is not the only kind of angular momentum present in an atom — electrons could also have intrinsic built-in angular momentum. This kind of built-in angular momentum is called spin. Whether or not electrons actually spin will never be known — they’re as close to point-like particles as you can come, without any apparent internal structure. Yet the fact remains that they have intrinsic angular momentum. And that’s what this chapter is about — the intrinsic, built-in quantum mechanical spin of subatomic particles.

The Stern-Gerlach Experiment and the Case of the Missing Spot

The Stern-Gerlach experiment unexpectedly revealed the existence of spin back in 1922. ...

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Quantum Physics For Dummies, Revised Edition

Quantum Physics For Dummies, Revised Edition

Steven Holzner

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781118460863Purchase book