Publication Date
2003
Journal or Book Title
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS
Abstract
Physicists often claim that there is an effective repulsion between fermions, implied by the Pauli principle, and a corresponding effective attraction between bosons. We examine the origins and validity of such exchange force ideas and the areas where they are highly misleading. We propose that explanations of quantum statistics should avoid the idea of an effective force completely, and replace it with more appropriate physical insights, some of which are suggested here.
Pages
1223-1231
Volume
71
Issue
12
Recommended Citation
Mullin, WJ and Blaylock, G, "Quantum statistics: Is there an effective fermion repulsion or boson attraction?" (2003). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. 39.
Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/physics_faculty_pubs/39
Comments
This is the pre-published version which is collected from arXiv. The published version is at http://ajp.aapt.org/resource/1/ajpias/v71/i12/p1223_s1