Re: neutron polarization

[Hugh Haskell <hhaskell@MINDSPRING.COM>]

Jerry, your answer is of course correct, but I don't think that is the kind
of polarization that Gary's student was thinking of. I suspect that, since
the subject was electrostatic polarization, especially induced polarization
of conducting or polarizable non-conducting material, the student was
wondering if the neutron, which they probably had heard was made up of
three charged particles whose total charge adds to zero, could be polarized
in the same sense as water molecules can be polarized by holding a charged
object near a stream of water.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the answer to this question is, or if it
is related to your answer. It seems to me that, in principle, it might be
possible, but I have no idea how this concept plays out when done in the
high-energy quantum environment that it would require. Or even if it is
possible to imagine the effect, if it can be observed in the lab.

Hugh


> Yes you can have polarized neutrons.  Neutrons have a spin of 1/2, the
> polarization is the alignment of this spin vector.  Generally one uses
> polarized neutron beams in nuclear physics.  One way to  create a
> polarized neutron beam is that a beam of polarized protons strikes a
> deuterium target and a large percentage of the knockout neutrons are
> polarized.  This is an example of polarization transfer.
>
> Jerry Lisantti                              lisantti@physics.centenary.edu
> Dept. of Physics and Engineering            http://alpha.centenary.edu
> Centenary College of Louisiana
> Shreveport, LA  71134
> 318.869.5219
>
> On Wed, 10 Feb 1999, GARY HEMMINGER wrote:
>
> > Please pardon the repetition if you've seen this message before --
> > there was no response, and it seemed as though our server or the
> > Listserv was acting funny at the time I first sent it.
> > We are discussing the electrostatic polarization of neutral objects,
> > both conductors and insulators,  and a student has asked, if
> > molecules and atoms can be polarized by an external charge,  then how
> > about neutrons?
> >
> > *****************************************
> >   Gary Hemminger
> >   Dwight-Engelwood School
> >   315 E. Palisade Ave.
> >   Englewood, New Jersey
> >              07631
> >   e-mail: hemmig@d-e.pvt.k12.nj.us
> > ********************************************

***************************************************
Hugh Haskell
<mailto://haskell@odie.ncssm.edu>

"The box said 'requires Windows 95 or better,' so I bought a Macintosh."
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