Stern–Gerlach experiment
By: Stern and Gerlach (1922)
In quantum physics, the Stern–Gerlach experiment demonstrated that the spatial orientation of angular momentum is quantized.
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Stern–Gerlach experiment (1922)
Performed by: Stern and Gerlach
In quantum physics, the Stern–Gerlach experiment demonstrated that the spatial orientation of angular momentum is quantized.
What makes Stern–Gerlach experiment significant?
This experiment is remembered because it gave scientists a way to directly test a theory about nature rather than just theorizing about it. The result either confirmed or challenged what physicists believed at the time.
About Stern–Gerlach experiment
In quantum physics, the Stern–Gerlach experiment demonstrated that the spatial orientation of angular momentum is quantized. Thus an atomic-scale system was shown to have intrinsically quantum properties. In the original experiment, silver atoms were sent through a spatially-varying magnetic field, which deflected them before they struck a detector screen, such as a glass slide. Particles with non-zero magnetic moment were deflected, owing to the magnetic field gradient, from a straight path. The screen revealed discrete points of accumulation, rather than a continuous distribution, owing to their quantized spin. Historically, this experiment was decisive in convincing physicists of the reality of angular-momentum quantization in all atomic-scale systems.
After its conception by Otto Stern in 1921, the experiment was first successfully conducted with Walther Gerlach in early 1922.
Sources: Wikipedia
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