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Pauli matrix

Pauli matrix noun: any one of three complex matrices that arise in Wolfgang Pauli's treatment of spin in quantum mechanics.

Noun

Pauli matrix (plural Pauli matrixes or Pauli matrices)

  1. Any one of three complex matrices that arise in Wolfgang Pauli's treatment of spin in quantum mechanics.
    • The Pauli matrices satisfy the equation #92;sigma#95;1²#61;#92;sigma#95;2²#61;#92;sigma#95;3²#61;-i#92;sigma#95;1#92;sigma#95;2#92;sigma#95;3#61;I which is reminiscent of Hamilton's fundamental formula for quaternion multiplication.
    • The first Pauli matrix is like a reflection about the "y=x" line. The third Pauli matrix is like a reflection about the "x axis". The second Pauli matrix is like a 90° counterclockwise rotation and scalar multiplication by the imaginary unit (which rotates the two complex components by 90°...

Forms of Pauli matrix

pluralPauli matrixes
pluralPauli matrices

Origin of Pauli matrix

Named after Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (1900–1958), Austrian theoretical physicist.

Questions about Pauli matrix

What does Pauli matrix mean?
Pauli matrix means any one of three complex matrices that arise in Wolfgang Pauli's treatment of spin in quantum mechanics.
What part of speech is Pauli matrix?
Pauli matrix is a noun.
What is the plural of Pauli matrix?
The plural of Pauli matrix is Pauli matrixes.

Words near Pauli matrix in the dictionary

  1. Pauley
  2. Pauli
  3. Pauli effect
  4. Pauli exclusion principle
  5. Pauli matrices
  6. Pauli matrix
  7. Pauli matrixes
  8. Pauli vector
  9. Pauli vectors
  10. Pauli-Lubanski pseudovector
  11. Paulian

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Pauli matrix (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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