What is it about?
For decades, our textbooks have described a quantum superposition of spin eigenfunctions through a Stern-Gerlach magnet. It's remarkably easy, with a simple, practical experiment, to demonstrate that the wave function is actually reduced to a single spin eigenfunction, and one atomic trajectory, through the magnet.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Correcting the misunderstanding of wavefunction evolution through the Stern-Gerlach magnet is seminal. It helps correct misconceptions concerning quantum coherence; there is no interference beyond the magnet. And, critically, quantum measurement within the magnet is accompanied by energy exchange.
Perspectives
I've found it remarkable that the misunderstanding of continuous wave function development inside the Stern-Gerlach magnet has persisted for nearly a hundred years. And that mistaken explanation has been repeated, over and over, by all the textbooks that include the subject.
Dr. Michael Devereux
Los Alamos National Laboratory (Retired)
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A simple, practical experiment to investigate atomic wavefunction reduction within a Stern–Gerlach magnet, Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics, June 2024, Institute of Physics Publishing,
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6455/ad5992.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
