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Am I right in understanding that individual atoms have a magnetic field? If so, does it have anything to do with charge and spin?
4 Answers
- Randy PLv 74 years agoFavorite Answer
"Spin" is by definition the magnetic moment of the individual particle. So it has everything to do with spin.
A material which is magnetized has the spins of the electrons lined up so they add up to a larger total magnetic field. In a non-magnetized material, the spins are randomly oriented so they cancel each other out.
- Andrew SmithLv 74 years ago
In the simplest terms imagine a hydrogen atom with an electron going around the nucleus.
Imagine that instead of orbiting in all planes it was like the earth where the electron only orbited in a single plane.
You would have a current ( electron) moving in a circular path ( a coil) generating a magnetic field.
Now this is an oversimplification but it shows that if there is any assymetry in the orbits of electrons the magnetic fields will not cancel to zero.
- 4 years ago
Yes---speaking simply, the movement of the electron generates a magnetic moment and field.