Stern-Gerlach_Analyzer_Sequential_Series_E3.png
Size of this preview:
800 × 423 pixels
.
Other resolutions:
320 × 169 pixels
|
640 × 339 pixels
|
1,024 × 542 pixels
|
1,280 × 677 pixels
|
2,400 × 1,270 pixels
.
Summary
Description Stern-Gerlach Analyzer Sequential Series E3.png |
English:
Neutrons are fired from a source oven into a non-homogeneous magnetic field (S-G analyzer). Due to their 'spin' they are deflected either up or down, labelled as z+ or z-.
Only the z+ neutrons are passed to the next S-G analyzer, which this time measures the neutron's x-spin. The neutrons are deflected either right or left, called x+ and x-, and the number of neutrons with x+ and x- spin is split even. At this point it seems we have measured both the z and x spin of the neutrons. However, this is not the case. When we pass only the x+ neutrons to the next S-G analyzer to confirm that they are all z+, we observe that their initial z-spin has been 'reset', and they are again split evenly between z+ and z-. This is despite the fact that we selected only the z+ neutrons in the first S-G analyzer. This experiment is thought to demonstrate the uncertainty principle, that only 1 axis of a neutron's spin can be known at a time. When the second one is measured, it 'resets' the state of the first one. The reason for this is still not known for certain. |
Date | |
Source | Own work |
Author | MJasK |
Modeled in FreeCAD
Licensing
I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license:
This file is licensed under the
Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
license.
-
You are free:
- to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- to remix – to adapt the work
-
Under the following conditions:
- attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.