Chronology | Current Month | Current Thread | Current Date |
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] | [Date Index] [Thread Index] | [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] | [Date Prev] [Date Next] |
Jack Uretsky wrote:
In response to John D.:
But that is the wrong answer.
I stand by my answer.
...
So the electron
executes circles in the x-y plane as it "drifts" in the z-direction.
Wow. Let's explore the consequences of that.
Will they be right-hand circles or left-hand circles,
when viewed along the direction of propagation of
the light? What does the allegedly-helpful cross product
predict?
Any such circle is a violation of conservation of
parity. A non-chiral setup (no initial spin-polarization
of the electrons, linearly polarized light) produces
a definitely-chiral result. That's very remarkable,
violating parity using only classical electromagnetism.
http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1957/index.html