Entropy & Electrons: No Spin Exist?

AI Thread Summary
Elemental particles, such as electrons, are not subject to entropy in the traditional sense, as entropy pertains to large collections of particles rather than individual ones. Electrons possess an intrinsic spin property that cannot simply disappear or become "dead"; they can only change direction. The transformation of electrons occurs through interactions with other particles, like photons, rather than in isolation. The discussion highlights that the concept of "dead electrons" is fundamentally flawed, as all electrons are identical in their intrinsic properties. Overall, the nature of elementary particles and their transformations must adhere to conservation laws.
Charles Brown
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Are elemental particles subject to entropy? Are there dead electrons "no spin".
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Could you clarify what your first question means?

There is no such thing as a dead electron. Its spin (1/2) is an intrinsic property and its only change would be direction (1/2 -> -1/2). Electrons in atoms have various energy levels.
 
This question is poorly constructed. I think you are asking, "Does an elementary decay?" Yes, elementary particles change into other elementary particles all the time, some more quickly than others. But they must still obey conservation laws as they do so, so an electron could not just loose its spin. Elementary particles are, by definition, elementary. You can not have a red electron or a blue electron or a minty electron, a tired electron, or a dead electron. All photons in the same quantum state are identical. The only way to intrinsically change an electron is to transform it into something else.

Now, the part of entropy that deals with an increase of disorder is a statistical law that applies large numbers of particles, so it does not directly apply to a single elementary particle.
 
It's like asking, "What is the friction between two electrons?" The question does not make sense because friction is a phenomenological description of the average behavior of a large collection of particles. Two electrons will repel each other through the regular Coulombic/electric force, but it looks much different than friction.
 
Chrisbaird
the question was poorly constructed. The question is what force causes the transformation of the electron.
 
You can not have a red electron or a blue electron or a minty electron, a tired electron, or a dead electron.http://www.uklv.info/g.php
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Charles Brown said:
Chrisbaird
the question was poorly constructed. The question is what force causes the transformation of the electron.

Electrons get transformed by interactions with other particles (including photons), but not in isolation.
 

Similar threads

I Question about orbital and spin magnetic dipole
Replies
2
Views
2K
B Dimensional Spin Inspection
Replies
2
Views
1K
B Magnetic Field & Particle Spin: Does It Matter?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Electron Spin and current-induced magnetic fields
Replies
18
Views
5K
Magnetic field lines around electron and wire seem to contradict
Replies
6
Views
1K
What Happens to Orbital and Spin Momentum of Free Electrons in Iron?
Replies
2
Views
2K
I Generating Entangled Electron Pairs
Replies
6
Views
2K
How fast does an electron spin
Replies
3
Views
3K
I Charge movement relative to magnetic field frame dependence/invariance
Replies
5
Views
863
Spin Magnetic Moment: Does an Electron Really Spin?
Replies
7
Views
6K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top