Components of the Stern Gerlach Experiment
Highlights of the activity
- Show students the attached pdf showing a schematic of the Stern Gerlach experiment in a foreign language
- ask students to use their small white boards and identify what each part of the experiment is
- ask why things are represented as they are (the magnet, for example, explicitly shows that it is inhomogeneous – and two collimators are more realistic than one to produce a good atomic beam out of an oven, all of the above has good opportunity to discuss actual experimental design)
Reasons to spend class time on the activity
The reasons for doing this activity include making sure students see the SG experiment as concrete, and that they understand the physical objects being discussed. It is also to get them thinking about the physical representation and why representational choices are made. This promotes sense-making when interpreting a new representation.
This can be done at the end of the first day as review or at the start of the second day as a refresher.