Electron Spin [ENDORSED]
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Electron Spin
For the Stern and Gerlach experiment I understand how electrons can be spun up or down but what is the meaning of ms=+1/2 and ms=-1/2?
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Re: Electron Spin
ms=+1/2 just means that the electron is spinning up whereas ms=-1/2 means that the electron is spinning down
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Re: Electron Spin
I'm pretty sure because each electron has a different interaction based on each state, the +1/2 and -1/2 account for the spin up and spin down
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Re: Electron Spin
Basically in the Stern and Gerlach experiment a beam of silver atoms was shot through a magnetic field and this single beam was divided (halved) into two beams after it passed through the magnetic field, this is why it +1/2 and -1/2. As it has been mentioned before, this also tells if an electron is spin up or spin down.
Re: Electron Spin [ENDORSED]
The +
and -
is not an arbitrary value and comes from quantum mechanical derivations that are beyond the scope of the class. All you need to understand is how the sign of the term is related to spin up or spin down.
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