Send atoms through a magnet and keep the that read up
PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Quantum Mechanics · Symmetry, angular momentum and spin · Symmetry, angular momentum and spin
Quantum Mechanics: From the Photon to the Hydrogen Atom, Ch Spin one-half, the Pauli matrices and two-level systems
Problem
Send 1000 atoms through a z magnet and keep the 500 that read up. Send those into a second magnet whose axis lies in the xz plane at 60∘ to z, and keep only the atoms reading up along that axis. Send the survivors through a third magnet along x, keeping only those reading up along x. Finally send that beam through a z magnet. Find the number of atoms surviving each stage, and the numbers finally reading up and down along z.