100 Years Molecular Beam Method Reproduction of Otto Stern’s Atomic Beam Velocity Measurement

Abstract

The history of Otto Stern’s pioneering measurement of the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution of a Silver atomic beam performed 1919 in Frankfurt is described. It is shown how Albert Einstein influenced Stern in his research. This experimental apparatus is not any more existing; therefore it was reconstructed in the workshops of the Physics faculty of the Goethe University in Frankfurt. The experimental verification of Stern’s results was finally achieved by a team of Frankfurt high school students (Gymnasium Riedberg) under the supervision of their teachers Axel Gruppe and Simon Cerny. By fighting against a number of difficulties, they succeeded to get the reconstructed apparatus started and were able to reproduce the results from the early experiments of Stern.