Simulation of atom trajectories in the original Stern-Gerlach experiment
Abstract
Following a comprehensive analysis of the historical literature, we model the geometry of the Sternx2013Gerlach experiment to numerically calculate the magnetic field using the finite-element method. Using this calculated field and Monte Carlo methods, the atomic translational dynamics are simulated to produce the well-known quantized end-pattern with matching dimensions. The finite-element method used provides the most accurate description of the Sternx2013Gerlach magnetic field and end-pattern in the literature, matching the historically reported values and figures.
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