Total Spin of Two Particles w/ Spin 1

  • Thread starter Thread starter Usaf Moji
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Particles Spin
Usaf Moji
71
0
I have a noobish question on spin addition. If I have a system of two particles, each with spin 1, and the spins don't interact, what is the total spin of the system (assuming zero orbital angular momentum)? Is the total spin just 2?

(I hope that my reach hasn't exceeded my grasp here.)
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The total spin (I assume you mean the quantum number that corresponds to the magnitude of the spin angular momentum, without regard to the direction) can be either 0 or 1 or 2.
 
Last edited:
Thanks jtbell, I should have specified that the particles are massless so that each has only two possible spin states (+ or - 1). On this basis, I would imagine that the system can only have two possible spin magnitudes, 0 or 2 (and not 1). Is this correct?
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
Not an expert in QM. AFAIK, Schrödinger's equation is quite different from the classical wave equation. The former is an equation for the dynamics of the state of a (quantum?) system, the latter is an equation for the dynamics of a (classical) degree of freedom. As a matter of fact, Schrödinger's equation is first order in time derivatives, while the classical wave equation is second order. But, AFAIK, Schrödinger's equation is a wave equation; only its interpretation makes it non-classical...
According to recent podcast between Jacob Barandes and Sean Carroll, Barandes claims that putting a sensitive qubit near one of the slits of a double slit interference experiment is sufficient to break the interference pattern. Here are his words from the official transcript: Is that true? Caveats I see: The qubit is a quantum object, so if the particle was in a superposition of up and down, the qubit can be in a superposition too. Measuring the qubit in an orthogonal direction might...

Similar threads

Back
Top