Principal Sponsors
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National Science Foundation
An independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science.
King Saud University seeks to become a leader in educational and technological innovation, scientific discovery and creativity through fostering an atmosphere of intellectual inspiration and partnership for the prosperity of society.
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Stern-Gerlach Experiment
The classic Stern-Gerlach Experiment shows that atoms have a property called spin. Spin is a kind of intrinsic angular momentum, which has no classical counterpart. When the z-component of the spin is measured, one always gets one of two values: spin up or spin down.
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Teaching Resources
Main Topics
- Quantum Mechanics
- Spin
- Quantum Measurement
Sample Learning Goals
- Describe the observations made in the Stern-Gerlach experiment.
- Describe how spins behave in the presence of a magnetic field.
- Recognize that spin is quantized.
- Describe how measuring spin along some direction changes its state.
- Argue from experimental observations that spin in the x direction and spin in the z direction must be incompatible observables.
Tips for Teachers
The teacher's guide (pdf) contains tips created by the PhET team.
Teaching Ideas
| Title | Authors | Level | Type | Updated |
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Visualization and Visual Illusions SIM Homework
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Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman | UG-Intro | HW | 1/9/11 |
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Stern Gerlach clicker questions
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Sam McKagan, Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman, and Noah Finkelstein | UG-Intro UG-Adv |
CQs | 1/9/11 |
| Spinometer | Doug Mounce | UG-Adv | Demo | 10/29/09 |
| Spinometer | Chris Mounce | UG-Adv | Demo | 7/28/09 |
You can submit your own ideas and activities.
Translated Versions:
Software Requirements
| Windows | Macintosh | Linux |
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Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7 Macromedia Flash 9 or later |
OS 10.5 or later
Macromedia Flash 9 or later |
Macromedia Flash 9 or later |
Credits
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
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