- #1
MadRocketSci2
- 48
- 1
So, my current understanding of spin is that when particles with a certain spin state hit a stern gerlach device, their wavefunction is split into components, deflection associated with one of the pure spin states aligned with the device. For spin 1/2 particles, there are only supposed to be two beams.
For large composite particles like silver atoms though: shouldn't the spin of the nuclear particles also contribute to the composite particle's spin state? (And neutrons do apparently have a magnetic moment, so they should react to the magnetic field). (I see silver is about evenly split between silver-107 and silver-109 (both with odd numbers of nucleons)).
If you were to run something like cadmium (with a much broader spread of isotopes) through a Stern gerlach device, wouldn't you have to get some sort of even/odd isotopic separation effect? I cannot think of any reason why a magnetic field acting on an atom should only act on the electrons!
This bugs me, because there is a very clear isotopic separation effect for something like the superfluidity of helium. Helium 3 behaves differently than helium 4.
For large composite particles like silver atoms though: shouldn't the spin of the nuclear particles also contribute to the composite particle's spin state? (And neutrons do apparently have a magnetic moment, so they should react to the magnetic field). (I see silver is about evenly split between silver-107 and silver-109 (both with odd numbers of nucleons)).
If you were to run something like cadmium (with a much broader spread of isotopes) through a Stern gerlach device, wouldn't you have to get some sort of even/odd isotopic separation effect? I cannot think of any reason why a magnetic field acting on an atom should only act on the electrons!
This bugs me, because there is a very clear isotopic separation effect for something like the superfluidity of helium. Helium 3 behaves differently than helium 4.
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