Andrejs Skuja  asked the Naked Scientists:    Hi Chris, I have a query I’d love answered if possible. I was recently posed the question, ’Why do our s...
Don’t let the below commenters put you off. Angular momentum is just as real for quantum particles, you just have to quantize it first. I like your idea, so do many very highly respected physicists.
you sure? “When an electron moves from a higher orbital to a lower orbital, the atom emits a photon. … Angular momentum is conserved only if there’s no external forces, in this case the electron gains energy by light or by heat wich is kinetic energy.”
Is the conservation of angular momentum violated in electron jumps from one orbital to another?
I don’t really know any quantum mechanics. But in our class, we were introduced to Bohr’s model of the atom with his postulate that the angular momentum of an electron in the $n$-th orbit is $frac...
Hmmm, i can see how a simplistic view of conservation of energy indicates that “the closer you get, the faster you go” but I think the analogy ends there. Electrons don’t even actually orbit the center of atoms, that was just a way to explain it, way back. Sorry.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have proposed a novel method for finding dark matter, the cosmo
I searched to see if this idea is right but can’t find an answer. I guess in practice you couldn’t have a infinitesimal length pendulum but in theory maybe you could. Anyways, I found this, which made sense, just doesn’t answer my question. Is this idea silly or a good way to practice physics and maths thinking?
Here is the Q and A Carroll published a few days later. Goes into more detail on some points. He is a great explainer – just what we need right now – especially in confused qm physics.
Great video, explains a lot and I didn’t realise it but yeah, conservation of momentum and energy are great ideas it would take a while to fully getting to grips with.
Angular momentum, in the form of “spin” is transferred to or from the photon. but read this to get a better idea of what you are trying to say… https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=35361.0
Don’t let the below commenters put you off. Angular momentum is just as real for quantum particles, you just have to quantize it first. I like your idea, so do many very highly respected physicists.
you sure? “When an electron moves from a higher orbital to a lower orbital, the atom emits a photon. … Angular momentum is conserved only if there’s no external forces, in this case the electron gains energy by light or by heat wich is kinetic energy.”
Hmmm, i can see how a simplistic view of conservation of energy indicates that “the closer you get, the faster you go” but I think the analogy ends there. Electrons don’t even actually orbit the center of atoms, that was just a way to explain it, way back. Sorry.
… and the longest wouldn’t move at all…
I searched to see if this idea is right but can’t find an answer. I guess in practice you couldn’t have a infinitesimal length pendulum but in theory maybe you could. Anyways, I found this, which made sense, just doesn’t answer my question. Is this idea silly or a good way to practice physics and maths thinking?
Give me a lever long enough and I can move the world. I guess this works backwards too. nice idea.
Khan Academy also cover it. So fundamental, its easy to miss completely before getting into more complex physical ideas
Here is the Q and A Carroll published a few days later. Goes into more detail on some points. He is a great explainer – just what we need right now – especially in confused qm physics.
Great video, explains a lot and I didn’t realise it but yeah, conservation of momentum and energy are great ideas it would take a while to fully getting to grips with.