Operators and commutation of operators

solas99
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why is only one component of angular momentum is quantised, and what determines which component is quantised?
 
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All components of Angular momentum are quantized but it is much easier to work with only the z component. And since space is isotropic, it does not really matter which direction you use. However, z component is simpler to work with mathematically.
 
Different components of angular momentum do not commute, so they cannot be quantized at the same time. Of all the components, z component is the easiest to deal with.
 
karlzr said:
Different components of angular momentum do not commute, so they cannot be quantized at the same time. Of all the components, z component is the easiest to deal with.
Do you mean can not be simultaneously diagonalized? All three are quantized simultaneously.
 

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