30 Jan 20
@DeepThought
Isn't what we call spin is only an analogy? Like maybe it is a'spin' not spinning but able to impart angular momentum to some other particle? Like a magnetic field but some other kind of field?
30 Jan 20
@sonhouse saidThere's a difference between our theories and what actually exists in the world. In the theory electrons have wavefunctions which are solutions to the Dirac equation and are in spinor representations of the Lorentz Group. So they have a quantum number which is jointly conserved with orbital angular momentum. So yes, you can look at it as being an analogy.
@DeepThought
Isn't what we call spin is only an analogy? Like maybe it is a'spin' not spinning but able to impart angular momentum to some other particle? Like a magnetic field but some other kind of field?
@DeepThought
What do you think the possibility is this spin thing could really be a force field and not a real spin?
30 Jan 20
@metal-brain saidSpin was measured, and electrons are spin-1/2 particles.
Convenient way to avoid answering questions you are incapable of answering.
What was measured and what is the number?
30 Jan 20
@KazetNagorra
Isn't it more correct to say the EFFECT of the spin AFFECT was measured since we can't really see a spin like in even a field electron microscope?
30 Jan 20
@sonhouse saidWe can "really see" spin in every sense that matters. Our eyes are very limited as far as measuring devices go, and we've developed plenty of other tools to supplement them.
@KazetNagorra
Isn't it more correct to say the EFFECT of the spin AFFECT was measured since we can't really see a spin like in even a field electron microscope?
30 Jan 20
@KazetNagorra
But how do you prove it is really spin rather than a force masquerading as spin, like some kind of force field but not really spinning?
30 Jan 20
@metal-brain saidElectron spin has nothing to do with rotations per second!
"One simply counts the number of complete rotations in some time interval and divides by the time taken to rotate that number of times."
So what was the number of rotations per second?
Because physicists were too unimaginative to think up a new word you
are making ignorant assumptions. They should have called it zyrx.
31 Jan 20
@wolfgang59 saidWhat is being measured?
Electron spin has nothing to do with rotations per second!
Because physicists were too unimaginative to think up a new word you
are making ignorant assumptions. They should have called it zyrx.
31 Jan 20
@metal-brain saidYou're like a scratched record. In the second to last post on page 10 of this thread I said: "In the Stern-Gerlach set up it's the magnetic moment that is measured.". In slightly more detail, the deflection of the silver atoms which are traveling through an inhomogenous magnetic field is measured. That the silver atoms are deflected either with or against the magnetic field by a fixed amount shows that the magnetic moment and hence the spin is quantized.
What is being measured?
If you really want to know about this read the Wikipedia page the link to which Kazet has repeatedly posted.
31 Jan 20
@deepthought saidMagnetic moment?
You're like a scratched record. In the second to last post on page 10 of this thread I said: "In the Stern-Gerlach set up it's the magnetic moment that is measured.". In slightly more detail, the deflection of the silver atoms which are traveling through an inhomogenous magnetic field is measured. That the silver atoms are deflected either with or against the magnetic ...[text shortened]... eally want to know about this read the Wikipedia page the link to which Kazet has repeatedly posted.
Yet another term that needs to be defined.
A magnetic moment is not spin as far as I can tell. The more you explain things the more complicated it gets. You went from intrinsic spin to angular momentum to magnetic moment, all of which have poor explanations.
When are you going to use the Feynman Technique?
@metal-brain saidWhich it long has and is very easy to understand. Just wiki it.
Magnetic moment?
Yet another term that needs to be defined.
@sonhouse saidIf theories predict the same things, they are identical. "Spin" is just a name given to a property we can observe.
@KazetNagorra
But how do you prove it is really spin rather than a force masquerading as spin, like some kind of force field but not really spinning?
31 Jan 20
@KazetNagorra
Maybe new physics will be discovered that can say one way or the other if it is in fact a 'real' spin like a top spinning on its axis.
@sonhouse saidTheories are distinguished only by their differences in terms of predictions for quantitative observations. They are not distinguished by analogies or intuition.
@KazetNagorra
Maybe new physics will be discovered that can say one way or the other if it is in fact a 'real' spin like a top spinning on its axis.