In the experiment shown schematically below, a beam of
neutral a...

Question

In the experiment shown schematically below, a beam of neutral atoms is passed through a magnetic field. Atoms that have unpaired electrons are deflected in different directions in the magnetic field depending on the value of the electron spin quantum number. In the experiment illustrated, we envision that a beam of hydrogen atoms splits into two beams. (c) What do you think would happen if the beam of hydrogen atoms were replaced with a beam of helium atoms? Why?

Accepted Answer

Hello everyone today. We are being given the following diagram that shows the setup for the Stern Gerlach experiment. And so in this experiment, adam's are passed through this magnetic field and they're deflected based on their electronic spins for their electron spins. In an experiment, a beam of lithium atoms was passed through a magnetic field and the beam split into two. What would happen if the same experiment is repeated using beryllium atoms, explain our answer. So the first thing I wanna make note of is the electron configuration of beryllium. So according to the periodic table, the electron configuration of beryllium is going to consist of the S. Block, the one S. Block and the two S. Block. And so the one S block is going to have two electrons, one going up, one going down and two S. Is also going to have a paired electrons group there. And so it just so happens that this Stern Gerlach experiment splits atoms into two when they have unpaid electrons. So it's split into two when UNP aired electrons are present. And so with that logic, we can conclude that since there are no unpaid electrons in the beryllium atom, this experiment will not split the beryllium adam. And so that is our final answer. I hope this helped until next time

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