This quantum restraining order, known as the Pauli exclusion principle, enforces a rule on the electrons bound to an atom: No two can orbit the nucleus of an atom in precisely the same way. Nature prohibits fermions with identical properties from being at the same place at the same time. They are the basic components of matter-they make up all the stuff in the universe-and they follow very different rules. It’s a different story for half-integer spin particles, such as electrons, which belong to the family of fermions. That’s why laser beams don’t push each other out of the way: The photons that comprise them are happy to pass through one another without a thought. ![]() ![]() A key property of bosons is that any number of them can share the same quantum properties in the same place at the same time. The photon, for example, actually transmits the force between two electrical charges. Spin separates every particle in the universe into two categories, depending on whether their spin is an integer like 1 (bosons) or a half-integer like 1/2 (fermions).īosons, the particles with integer spins, convey forces.
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