The model of the motion of particles in the Stern-Gerlach apparatus in the classical and quantum mechanics was developed. The data simulation of particle trajectories and distribution of silver atoms on the surface of the plate in their deposition are discussed. It was found that for the experimentally observed distribution of two-dimensional shapes of the atoms must be assumed that the atoms are not involved in the precession motion in a magnetic field, while maintaining the direction of the magnetic moment, for example, parallel to the induction vector of the magnetic field during the time of motion in the apparatus. To obtain a realistic picture of the figure of the scattering of atoms used a classical model of movement and expression of forces compatible with the quantum picture of the motion of particles with spin ½. The magnetic field is simulated based on the original Stern-Gerlach data describing the distribution of the gradient of the induction components related to the splitting of the beam. Quantum model of particle motion is based on the Pauli equation in the boundary layer approximation. It is found that in this model, depending on the initial polarization of the particle, beam is split into either two or is deflected towards the magnet blade or in the opposite direction. It is shown that if the initial conditions for the task are reproducing the geometric dimensions and the magnetic field in the Stern-Gerlach apparatus, the figure of the scattering particles in the shape of the outline is similar to the experimentally observed shape
The model of the motion of particles in the Stern-Gerlach apparatus in the classical and quantum mechanics was developed. The data simulation of particle trajectories and distribution of silver atoms on the surface of the plate in their deposition are discussed. It was found that for the experimentally observed distribution of two-dimensional shapes of the atoms must be assumed that the atoms are not involved in the precession motion in a magnetic field, while maintaining the direction of the magnetic moment, for example, parallel to the induction vector of the magnetic field during the time of motion in the apparatus. To obtain a realistic picture of the figure of the scattering of atoms used a classical model of movement and expression of forces compatible with the quantum picture of the motion of particles with spin ½. The magnetic field is simulated based on the original Stern-Gerlach data describing the distribution of the gradient of the induction components related to the splitting of the beam. Quantum model of particle motion is based on the Pauli equation in the boundary layer approximation. It is found that in this model, depending on the initial polarization of the particle, beam is split into either two or is deflected towards the magnet blade or in the opposite direction. It is shown that if the initial conditions for the task are reproducing the geometric dimensions and the magnetic field in the Stern-Gerlach apparatus, the figure of the scattering particles in the shape of the outline is similar to the experimentally observed shape
A detailed analysis of the classic Stern–Gerlach experiment is presented. An analytical simple solution is presented for the quantum description of the translational and spin dynamics of a silver atom in a magnetic field with a gradient along a single z-direction. This description is then used to obtain an approximate quantum description of the more realistic case with a magnetic field gradient also in a second y-direction. An explicit relation is derived for how an initial off center deviation in the y-direction affects the final result observed at the detector. This shows that the “mouth shape” pattern at the detector observed in the original Stern–Gerlach experiment is a generic consequence of the gradient in the y-direction. This is followed by a discussion of the spin dynamics during the entry of the silver atom into the magnet. An analytical relation is derived for a simplified case of a field only along the z-direction. A central question for the conceptual understanding of the Stern–Gerlach experiment has been how an initially unpolarized spin ends up in a polarized state at the detector. It is argued that this can be understood with the use of the adiabatic approximation. When the atoms first experience the magnetic field outside the magnet, there is in general a change in the spin state, which transforms from a degenerate eigenstate in the absence of a field into one of two possible non-degenerate states in the field. If the direction of the field changes during the passage through the device, there is a corresponding adiabatic change of the spin state. It is shown that an application of the adiabatic approximation in this way is consistent with the previously derived exact relations.
A thorough motion investigation and analysis was conducted again for the original Stern-Gerlach Experiment(SGE). The analysis is still based on the assumption that the atom passing the SG apparatus is a micromagnet due to the spin of its electron, the atoms in the source beam are with an orientation distribution of its angular momentum vectors, while the spin micromagnet is in the precession induced by an inhomogeneous magnetic field. It is the precession that keeps the silver beam with narrower orientation distribution of its angular momentum vectors after passing through the inhomogeneous magnetic field. The motion relativity was introduced in the SGE between the SG apparatus and the silver source beam, which interpreted all the detection phenomena in the multi-stage SGE. The research provided a new and convincing interpretation to the SGE with full satisfaction based on the classical physics without any mysterious or counter intuitive concepts introduced compared to quantum physics.
The Stern-Gerlach (SG) experiment reported in 1922 was an important milestone in the history of physics. The passing of a collimated neutral beam of silver atoms through a long, strong and asymmetrical magnet caused the atoms of silver out of a horizontal slit to split roughly into two separate beams forming a hollow lip figure (as seen on a plate held normal to the beam) instead of being a filled-in lip figure as suggested by some theoretical calculations. The SG results were thought to indicate that the observed phenomenon can not be explained using classical physics. Following a classical numerical approach by the author using a double-slit geometry, results are given for a 3D numerical SG type experiment showing clearly that a binary beam splitting is possible for certain conditions using an inverse square relation as the only source of forces- thus giving the possibility of a classical interpretation to the problem. For simplicity, we use what is mathematically equivalent- a dipole of charges to represent the magnetic dipole of the atom, and sets of fixed charges or potential surfaces around the path of the beam to represent the poles of a magnet. Although not exactly following the SG setup, the present results, nonetheless, are useful in showing the clear discrete behavior that can be caused by the combination of a fixed boundary, a strong field asymmetry and the highly nonlinear mapping of the inverse square law of forces coupled with the spin direction of a particle.
Abstract In 1921, Otto Stern conceived the idea for an experiment that would decide between a classical and a quantum description of atomic behavior, as epitomized by the Bohr–Sommerfeld–Debye model of the atom. This model entailed not only the quantization of the magnitude of the orbital electronic angular momentum but also of the projection of the angular momentum on an external magnetic field – the so‐called space quantization. Stern recognized that space quantization would have observable consequences: namely, that the magnetic dipole moment due to the orbital angular momentum would be space quantized as well, taking two opposite values for atoms whose only unpaired electron has just one quantum of orbital angular momentum. When acted upon by a suitable inhomogeneous magnetic field, a beam of such atoms would be split into two beams consisting of deflected atoms with opposite projections of the orbital angular momentum on the magnetic field. In contradistinction, if atoms behaved classically, the atomic beam would only broaden along the field gradient and have maximum intensity at zero deflection, i. e., where there would be a minimum or no intensity for a beam split due to space quantization. Stern anticipated that, although simple in principle, the experiment would be difficult to carry out – and invited Walther Gerlach to team up with him. Gerlach's realism and experimental skills together with his sometimes stubborn determination to make things work proved invaluable for the success of the Stern–Gerlach experiment (SGE). After a long struggle, Gerlach finally saw, on 8 February 1922, the splitting of a beam of silver atoms in a magnetic field. The absence of the concept of electron spin confused and confounded the interpretation of the SGE, as the silver atoms were, in fact, in a 2S state, with zero orbital and spin angular momentum. However, a key quantum feature whose existence the SGE was designed to test – namely space quantization of electronic angular momentum – was robust enough to transpire independent of whether the electronic angular momentum was orbital or due to spin. The SGE entails other key aspects of quantum mechanics such as quantum measurement, state preparation, coherence, and entanglement. Confronted with the outcome of the SGE, Stern noted: “I still have objections to the idea of beauty of quantum mechanics. But she is correct.”
Since its completion in 1922, the Stern-Gerlach experiment has long been regarded in mainstream quantum mechanics as a key experimental evidence for the 1/2 intrinsic spin of electrons, and a foundational observation for spatial quantization and quantum state collapse theory. Based on the basic standpoint of the light-origin theory, this paper adheres to the core criterion that magnetism is a secondary effect derived from the directional motion of electric charges, and re-examines the phenomenon that silver atomic beams split into two streams in a non-uniform magnetic field. This paper points out that the "intrinsic spin magnetic moment" defined by mainstream quantum theory cannot correspond to closed charge circulation inside the electron (the classical rotation model leads to the contradiction of superluminal speed), and violates the unified origin principle of "electricity generating magnetism" in electromagnetism. Essentially, it is a mathematical degree of freedom artificially introduced to fit experimental results. This paper proposes that the bifurcation effect of silver atomic beams can be fully explained by the orientation coupling between magnetic dipoles formed by ordered charge circulation of electrons inside atoms and an external non-uniform magnetic field. The magnetic dipoles of incident silver atoms are randomly distributed in orientation statistically, yet only two orientations, parallel and antiparallel to the external magnetic field, can remain stable in the gradient magnetic field, while intermediate orientations are unstable and excluded. Eventually the atomic beam separates into two discrete streams, with no need to introduce the hypothesis of intrinsic spin without physical carriers. This paper further designs a discriminative experimental scheme: in a single-electron trapping system with ultra-low temperature and strong magnetic shielding, after thermal jitter is sufficiently suppressed, if no stable self-sustained static magnetic dipole signal of the electron can be detected, it will constitute a direct test for the hypothesis of intrinsic spin magnetic moment.
Abstract We propose a phenomenological theory of spin behavior in a magnetic field, which explains from the point of view of classical physics the two-valued result of the Stern-Gerlach experiment. The behavior of the spin and intrinsic magnetic moment of an electron wave of an atom in an external magnetic field is considered. We show that in a weak magnetic field, the intrinsic magnetic moment of an electron wave is always oriented parallel to the magnetic field strength vector, while in a strong magnetic field, depending on the initial orientation of the intrinsic magnetic moment, two orientations are realized: either parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic field strength vector. Within the framework of classical electrodynamics, the calculation of the motion of an atomic beam in an inhomogeneous magnetic field is carried out, which reproduces the results of the Stern-Gerlach experiment.