On Nuclear Magnetic Moments

Abstract

The general regularity of observed nuclear magnetic moments confirms the theoretical expectation that the total spin angular momentum should be one-half or zero, and suggests further that the orbital and spin moments of protons and neutrons separately are approximately constants of the motion in most nuclei. The possibility is discussed that this separability of the orbital moments (as well as the spin moments) should be expected as a result of the customary exchange nature of the binding forces. The separability seems to be due to neutron excess and to a vestige of the shell structure of the Hartree model, in which the contributing neutrons are loosely coupled to the protons by exchange forces because of being in quite different states. The moments of potassium are singled out as having exceptionally simple structure.