Stern-Gerlach technique

FIG U RE 9.5 Example for the preparation of a pure molecular cloud. Here an optically trapped EEC of atoms was subjected to a magnetic-field sweep across a Feshbach resonance. The Stern-Gerlach technique was then applied after release from the trap to spatially separate the atoms (left) from the molecules (right). Finally the molecules were dissociated by a reverse Feshbach ramp, and an absorption image was taken. The field of view is 1.7 x 0.7 mm. (Courtesy of S. Diirr and G. Rempe.)... 

Electron spin is the basis of the experimental technique called electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), which is used to study the structures and motions of molecules and ions that have unpaired electrons. This technique is based on detecting the energy needed to flip an electron between its two spin orientations. Like Stern and Gerlach s experiment, it works only with ions or molecules that have an unpaired electron. 

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