Particle deflection in a Stern-Gerlach experiment

[Sam McGowan]

In the case of a beam of atoms passing between opposed magnets in a Stern Gerlach device and being deflected by the field into two different directions with 50:50 probability, could someone please clarify for me if there is a lower limit of magnetic field strength for this sorting effect to occur?


This is my first post on the forum and I have had a browse for similar threads but please forgive me if I have repeated a previous question.

Thankyou,

Sam

 

[kith]

Not the field but the field gradient is the crucial quantity. A quick google search yielded this PF-thread which assumes a desired separation of the beams by 1mm:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/calc-field-gradient-of-stern-gerlach-magnet.334692/

 

[Sam McGowan]

Thanks for the link, kith. I have had a closer look now and feel a bit closer to understanding this. I am curious because I have read that in principle there is no lower limit, but it seems that testing at very low energies merely results in infinetessimal perturbations.

 

[kith]

Yes, it is simply your detector resolution which gives a lower limit on the spatial separation of beams which you need to achieve.