Pauli exclusion principle

Pau·li exclusion principle

P0121100 (pô′lē, pou′-)n. See exclusion principle.

[After Wolfgang Pauli.]

Pauli exclusion principle

n (Atomic Physics) physics the principle that two identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state in a body such as an atom. Sometimes shortened to: exclusion principle

exclu′sion prin`ciple

n. the quantum-mechanical principle that no two identical particles having spin equal to half an odd integer can be in the same quantum state. Also called Pauli exclusion principle.

Thesaurus

Noun

Pauli exclusion principle - no two electrons or protons or neutrons in a given system can be in states characterized by the same set of quantum numbersexclusion principlelaw of nature, law - a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; "the laws of thermodynamics"

Pauli exclusion principle

(pow -lee) The principle that no two particles can exist in exactly the same quantum state. It is obeyed by fermions but not by bosons. The existence of white dwarfs and neutron stars is a consequence of this.

Pauli Exclusion Principle

a fundamental law of nature according to which two identical particles with half-integral spin (in units of Planck’s constant ħ) cannot simultaneously exist in the same state. The principle was formulated in 1925 by the Swiss physicist W. Pauli for electrons in the atom; it was later extended to all particles—elementary particles, nuclei, atoms, or molecules—with half-integral spin (fermions). Pauli subsequently showed that the exclusion principle follows from the relation between spin and statistics that exists in relativistic quantum mechanics: particles with half-integral spin obey Fermi-Dirac statistics. In particular, the wave function of a system of identical fermions must be antisymmetric with respect to an interchange of any two fermions. Thus, no more than one fermion can occupy a given state.

The Pauli exclusion principle played a decisive role in understanding the regularities underlying the filling of the electron shells of the atom. It served as the starting point for an explanation of atomic and molecular spectra. In the quantum theory of the solid state, the application of the principle led to Fermian statistics for an electron gas. The explanation of most thermal, electric, and magnetic properties of a solid is based on Fermian statistics. The exclusion principle has an important place in nuclear theory—for example, it provides the foundation for the nuclear shell model. It also has a considerable role in the theory of nuclear reactions and reactions between elementary particles.

REFERENCE

Teoreticheskaia fizika 20 veka (in memory of W. Pauli, translations). Moscow, 1962.

V. P. PAVLOV

Pauli exclusion principle

[′pȯl·ē ik′sklü·zhən ‚prin·sə·pəl] (ecology) exclusion principle

Pauli exclusion principle

Paul·i exclusion prin·ci·ple

(paw'lē), the theory limiting the number of electrons in the orbit or shell of an atom; that it is not possible for any two electrons to have all four quantum numbers identical.

Paul·i ex·clu·sion prin·ci·ple

(pawl'ē eks-klū'zhŭn prin'si-pĕl) The theory limiting the number of electrons in the orbit or shell of an atom: that it is not possible for any two electrons to have all four quantum numbers identical.

Pauli,

Wolfgang, Austrian-U.S. physicist and Nobel laureate, 1900-1958. Pauli exclusion principle - the theory limiting the number of electrons in the orbit or shell of an atom.

Pauli exclusion principle

Pau·li exclusion principle

Pauli exclusion principle

exclu′sion prin`ciple

Pauli exclusion principle

Pauli exclusion principle

Pauli Exclusion Principle

REFERENCE

Pauli exclusion principle

Pauli exclusion principle

Paul·i exclusion prin·ci·ple

Paul·i ex·clu·sion prin·ci·ple

Pauli,

Pauli exclusion principle

Synonyms for Pauli exclusion principle

noun no two electrons or protons or neutrons in a given system can be in states characterized by the same set of quantum numbers

Synonyms

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