Table of Contents
Are particles actually spinning?
The spins of elementary particles are analogous to the spins of macroscopic bodies. In fact, the spin of a planet is the sum of the spins and the orbital angular momenta of all its elementary particles. So are the spins of other composite objects such as atoms, atomic nuclei and protons (which are made of quarks).
What causes particle spin?
There are two things that contribute to angular momentum: spin, which is the intrinsic angular momentum inherent to any fundamental particle, and orbital angular momentum, which is what you get from two or more fundamental particles that make up a composite particle.
What does the double-slit experiment?
In modern physics, the double-slit experiment is a demonstration that light and matter can display characteristics of both classically defined waves and particles; moreover, it displays the fundamentally probabilistic nature of quantum mechanical phenomena.
Is quantum superposition real?
The quantum superposition principle has been tested on a scale as never before in a new study by scientists at the University of Vienna in collaboration with the University of Basel. Hot, complex molecules composed of nearly two thousand atoms were brought into a quantum superposition and made to interfere.
How fast does a quark move?
speed of light
The quarks, which are the components of protons and neutrons, move back and forth at a speed close to the speed of light, and in random directions. This back and forth movement, or zigzag motion, has already been quantified [6] .
How fast do photons spin?
Photons are massless, so they always move at the speed of light in vacuum, 299792458 m/s (or about 186,282 mi/s). The photon belongs to the class of bosons….Photon.
| Photons are emitted in threaded laser beams | |
|---|---|
| Composition | Elementary particle |
| Spin | 1 |
| Spin states | Three: +1 ℏ, 0 ℏ, −1 ℏ |
| Parity | −1 |
Is gravity the warping of space and time?
The equivalence principle tells us that the effects of gravity and acceleration are indistinguishable. In thinking about the example of the cylindrical ride, we see that accelerated motion can warp space and time. It is here that Einstein connected the dots to suggest that gravity is the warping of space and time.
What would it take to distort space-time?
The only catch: Alcubierre says that, “just as happens with wormholes,” you’d need “exotic matter” (matter with “strange properties”) to distort space-time. And the amount of energy necessary to power that would be on par with — wait for it — the mass-energy of the planet Jupiter.
Can you accelerate a particle with mass to light speed?
To do so would violate the special theory of relativity, which stipulates that you’d need an infinite amount of energy to accelerate a particle with mass to light speed. We’ve all heard this pretty much since we were kids.
How does a spaceship move faster than the speed of light?
By a purely local expansion of spacetime behind the spaceship and an opposite contraction in front of it, motion faster than the speed of light as seen by observers outside the disturbed region is possible. The resulting distortion is reminiscent of the ‘warp drive’ of science fiction.