Can someone help me understand electron spin?
I'm a first year university study who is taking chemistry courses, and although i'll admit for the content I'm doing, I don't have to understand how electrons work in great depth but rather just accept certain facts about them, but its always irritated me. One of those 'facts' is that electrons have an intrinsic property called 'spin' but I have struggled comprehending this concept.
Heres what I know;
- Electrons don't actually spin, but act like they do
- Electrons have a quantum spin number (1/2) and a direction (+/-), and that all electrons are either +1/2 or -1/2 spin
- That electrons have to 'rotate' 720 degrees to return to their original orientation (This I can understand, like Dirac's belt)
Heres what I'm struggling with;
- How electrons have angular momentum if they aren't actually spinning
- What is causing electrons to 'spin'
- How come 2 electrons can only occupy the same orbital if they have opposite spins (Pauli Exclusion Principle)
If anyone can help me greater understand electron spin I will be super grateful!!! 🙏