hurricane89 said:if spin is a term used to describe a particles angular momentum, then how can something have an "opposite" angular momentum than another.
hurricane89 said:spin has me confused honestly. i barely know what it is or how its measured or why it isn't just called angular momentum
Vanadium 50 said:Spin has direction - it can be clockwise or counterclockwise, for example. Does that clear things up?
Matterwave said:That statement needs to be quantified since point particles (as far as we know) shouldn't be able to "rotate" about an axis. (so, clockwise, and counterclockwise may not be the best modifiers) Indeed, if you take and upper bound of the radius of an electron and use L=Iw=hbar/2 on it, and find the "velocity" of a point on the equator of the electron, you get a value that is over 10 times the speed of light.
Matterwave said:Yes, that's true, but my point was that "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" implies a rotation about an axis. Which demands further comments.
hurricane89 said:so now if theyre not rotating about an axis then how can something have opposite directions of spin. ughh what is it meant by "direction". is it the "direction" of spin which determines which way the particle curves in the magnetic field? even though it has nothing to do with rotation? if that's the case then "direction" doesn't even mean direction. it just means that "something" is different about electron A that makes it take one path while electron b takes the other... right?
are there any other ways to determine spin or is it just the stern-gerlach experiment which tells you that? thingd are starting to make senseDrChinese said:Yes, one has a spin value of +1/2 and the other is -1/2. It is confusing, because it is so tempting to think of a spinning golf ball or similar (you can probably guess what major tournament I was watching yesterday).
Keep in mind that positively and negatively charged particles also exhibit movement (attraction) and you don't need a picture of a spinning ball to picture that. Instead, you picture a magnet. Now, really, what does a magnet explain in this case? (Answer: nothing, it is circular logic as magnets are created by a special arrangement of their atoms.) The point is: with all particle phenomena, you CANNOT let the picture dominate your understanding. The picture is just a shorthand, nothing more, and even that only as long as it doesn't hold you back.
Spin is a fundamental property of particles in quantum mechanics that describes their intrinsic angular momentum. It is not the same as physical rotation, but rather a quantum mechanical property that can have discrete values.
When two particles have opposite spins, it means that their spin values are in opposite directions. In other words, one particle has a spin of +1/2 and the other has a spin of -1/2. This is known as spin-1/2 particles.
Spin is important in particle physics because it is a fundamental property that helps us understand the behavior and interactions of particles. It is also a crucial factor in determining the stability and identity of particles, as well as their quantum states.
Spin is measured using specialized detectors and equipment in particle physics experiments. These detectors can detect the spin direction of particles by measuring the deflection of their trajectories in a magnetic field. The results are then analyzed to determine the spin value of the particles.
Yes, particles with opposite spins can interact with each other. In fact, particles with opposite spins are often involved in interactions such as chemical bonding and the exchange of energy. However, particles with the same spin cannot interact due to the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that two identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state.