Stern-Gerlach experiment

In quantum mechanics, the Stern-Gerlach experiment, named after Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach, is a celebrated experiment in 1920 on deflection of particles, often used to illustrate basic principles of quantum mechanics. It can be used to demonstrate that electrons and atoms have intrinsically quantum properties, that measurement in quantum mechanics affects the particles measured, and that quantum states are necessarily described by complex numbers.

History

The Stern-Gerlach experiment was performed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1922 by Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach. At the time, Stern was an assistant to Max Born at the University of Frankfurt's Institute for Theoretical Physics, and Gerlach was an assistant at the same university's Institute for Experimental Physics.

Related Topics:
Frankfurt - Germany - Otto Stern - Walther Gerlach - Max Born - University of Frankfurt - Institute for Theoretical Physics - Institute for Experimental Physics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the time of the experiment, the most prevalent model for describing the atom was the Bohr model, which described electrons as going around the positively-charged nucleus only in certain discrete orbitals or energy levels. Since the electron was quantized to be only in certain positions in space, the separation into distinct orbits was referred to as space quantization.

Related Topics:
Atom - Bohr model - Electrons - Nucleus - Orbitals - Energy levels - Quantized - Space quantization

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~