Stern-Gerlach experiment

proper noun

An experiment demonstrating that the spatial orientation of angular momentum is quantized, and thus an atomic-scale system has intrinsically quantum properties.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Stern-Gerlach experiment
  1. quantum mechanicsAn experiment demonstrating that the spatial orientation of angular momentum is quantized, and thus an atomic-scale system has intrinsically quantum properties.

Origin

After its conception by Otto Stern in 1921, the experiment was first successfully conducted with Walther Gerlach in early 1922.

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Cite this entry
APA

Stern-Gerlach experiment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stern-Gerlach%20experiment

MLA

“Stern-Gerlach experiment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stern-Gerlach%20experiment. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Stern-Gerlach experiment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stern-Gerlach%20experiment.

Source: Stern-Gerlach experiment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.