orbital angular momentum

noun

Physics.

1. the component of angular momentum of an electron in an atom or a nucleon in a nucleus, arising from its orbital motion rather than from its spin.

Example Sentences

"Most experimentalists assume that the angular momentum of light can be split into spin and orbital angular momentum," said Palmerduca.

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"The research was conducted by employing helical light beams carrying orbital angular momentum to probe the optical properties of amorphous and crystalline materials," explains Professor Bhardwaj.

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More recently, scientists have found that electrons are also capable of generating electricity through a second kind of movement: orbital angular momentum, similar to how Earth revolves around the sun.

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Instead, Kawakami's team demonstrated the orbital Hall effect by reflecting polarized light, in this case, a laser, onto various thin films of the light metal chromium to probe the metal's atoms for a potential build-up of orbital angular momentum.

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An opponent could argue that although we thought we measured polarization, our apparatus actually probed some other property—say, the photon's orbital angular momentum.

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