Jump to content

Basic question about particle physics


Artebian

Recommended Posts

When a particle is said to have "spin," does that mean it actually spins or is it simply an arbitrary label of a property like "charm"?

 

 

No, it's is not physically spinning, and no, this is not arbitrary. Spin is angular momentum, as the classical concept suggests, but it is intrinsic to the particle rather than from physical motion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As swansont says, you should not think of a particle as a tiny spinning ball. The intrinsic spin does not have such a simple interpretation, but it is similar to angular momentum when you take special relativity into account - you could look up the Pauli–Lubanski pseudovector.

 

The usual way to include spin in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics is to simply 'bolt it on' to the theory - you then think of total angular momentum, which is the sum of the orbital angular momentum and the spin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.