Wolfgang Pauli. Spin and Sarcasm

Helge Kastrup, Jeffry V. Mallow A

Published Sep 27, 2022• 0 citations

Abstract

Atomic spectra had twice as many lines as predicted. As a solution, two young physicists, George Uhlenbeck and Samuel Goudsmit, proposed that in addition to orbiting its nucleus, an electron “spins” around its axis. (Not really, but the idea works.) Wolfgang Pauli showed that the spin could only have two opposing orientations. This could account for all of the lines. He further proposed an “Exclusion Principle”: that no electrons could be described by all the same quantum numbers, otherwise atoms (and we) could not exist. In 1930, he predicted the existence of a new particle, the neutrino, which was not observed until 26 years later. In addition to contributions to quantum mechanics, Pauli was famous for nasty remarks. A couple of gems:“This paper is so bad it is not even wrong.”“I don't mind your thinking slowly; I mind your publishing faster than you think.”

DOI: 10.1063/9780735421721_012

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