When we face first time with Quantum Mechanics one of the new concept to understand is how works the
Angular Momentum and the Spin of a Particle.
In quantum mechanics and particle physics,
spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, composite particles (hadrons), and atomic nuclei.
Spin is one of two types of
angular momentum in quantum mechanics, the other being orbital angular momentum. Orbital angular momentum is the quantum-mechanical counterpart to the classical notion of angular momentum: it arises when a particle executes a rotating or twisting trajectory (such as when an electron orbits a nucleus).
The existence of spin angular momentum is inferred from experiments, such as the
Stern–Gerlach experiment, in which particles are observed to possess angular momentum that cannot be accounted for by orbital angular momentum alone. In some ways, spin is like a vector quantity; it has a definite magnitude, and it has a "direction" (but quantization makes this "direction" different from the direction of an ordinary vector).
All elementary particles of a given kind have the same magnitude of spin angular momentum, which is indicated by assigning the particle a spin quantum number. The SI unit of spin is the joule-second, just as with classical angular momentum. In practice, however, it is written as a multiple of the reduced Planck constant ħ, usually in natural units, where the ħ is omitted, resulting in a unitless number.
Spin quantum numbers are unitless numbers by definition.
When combined with the spin-statistics theorem, the spin of electrons results in the
Pauli exclusion principle, which in turn underlies the
periodic table of chemical elements.
Video. Angular Momentum and Spin
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