exclusion principle

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the principle that in any system described by quantum mechanics no two identical particles having spin equal to half an odd integer can be in the same quantum state: first postulated for the electrons in atoms.

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exclusion principle British  

noun

1. See Pauli exclusion principle

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exclusion principle Scientific  

/ ĭk-sklo̅o̅′zhən /

1. See Pauli exclusion principle

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Etymology

Origin of exclusion principle

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

In the same paper where he had suggested his new two-valued number, Pauli had also suggested an “exclusion principle,” the notion that no two electrons could occupy the exact same state.

From Scientific American

A quantum-mechanical law called the Pauli exclusion principle keeps matter from squishing itself into a point.

From Literature

To avoid some inconsistencies associated with the exclusion principle, it already had been suggested that quarks might come in three “colors.”

From Scientific American

It is an important property of the force-carrying particles that they do not obey the exclusion principle.

From Literature

Dozens of others have already pointed out how strategically idiotic is Trump’s exclusion principle.

From Washington Post