Question

In my current understanding, I have been told that the spin of quantum particles is simply intrinsic to them. That, particles are simply right-handed or left-handed... just because they are. To me, that seems then that we should then treat handedness like it is just as distinguishing of a property as mass, or charge, or color charge. Almost like the standard model should be doubled, or mirrored. Like, right-handed, blue, up quarks should be considered as a wholly different particle from a left-handed blue up quark.

But wouldn't something HAVE to catalyze the spin? Like a ball rolling down a hill hits a rock, and how it first strikes that rock determines whether it continues its rolling spinning to the right or to the left. Could spin be acquired, for instance, during the big bang, by the first interaction of a particle as it hits the higgs field? And some characteristic of the particle to that point determines which way it glances off of the higgs field?

Answer 1

Intrinsic spin is a quantized and fundamental property of quantum particles, not caused by an external interaction but inherent to the particles themselves. Particles have spins that can be half-integral or integral, affecting their behavior and interactions in different ways.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of intrinsic spin in quantum particles is a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics. Contrary to classical objects, quantum particles such as electrons, protons, and neutrons, have an intrinsic property known as spin, which is quantized and intrinsic to the particles themselves. It's important to understand that this property doesn't arise from an external influence like a ball being hit and spinning off; intrinsic spin is built into the particles from the moment of their existence. The quantization of intrinsic spin means that the particles can have either half-integral spins (like fermions, which include electrons, protons, and neutrons with s = 1/2) or integral spins (like bosons, which include photons with s = 1, and pions with s = 0). In theory, the handedness of particles could suggest a mirrored version of the Standard Model, but in practice, physicists recognize left-handed and right-handed particles as having different interactions, especially in the case of neutrinos. Spin is indeed a distinguishing feature comparable to mass, charge, or color charge, but it does not necessarily imply that each combination of properties should be considered a different particle. The interactions of particles, such as those with the Higgs field, do not assign spin but, rather, influence other properties like mass. In conclusion, spin is a quantum number, deeply embedded in the nature of particles, affecting their quantum behavior and interactions, fundamentally different from classical intuitive notions of angular momentum.