Spin Quantum Number - Electron Spin

Electron Spin

Early attempts to explain the behavior of electrons in atoms focused on solving the Schrödinger wave equation for the hydrogen atom, the simplest possible case, with a single electron bound to the atomic nucleus. This was successful in explaining many features of atomic spectra.

The solutions required each possible state of the electron to be described by three "quantum numbers". These were identified as, respectively, the electron "shell" number n, the "orbital" number l, and the "orbital angular momentum" number m. Angular momentum is a so-called "classical" concept measuring the momentum of a mass in circular motion about a point. The shell numbers start at 1 and increase indefinitely. Each shell of number n contains n² orbitals. Each orbital is characterized by its number l, where l takes integer values from 0 to n−1, and its angular momentum number m, where m takes integer values from +l to −l. By means of a variety of approximations and extensions, physicists were able to extend their work on hydrogen to more complex atoms containing many electrons.

Atomic spectra measure radiation absorbed or emitted by electrons "jumping" from one "state" to another, where a state is represented by values of n, l, and m. The so-called "Transition rule" limits what "jumps" are possible. In general, a jump or "transition" is allowed only if all three numbers change in the process. This is because a transition will be able to cause the emission or absorption of electromagnetic radiation only if it involves a change in the electromagnetic dipole of the atom.

However, it was recognized in the early years of quantum mechanics that atomic spectra measured in an external magnetic field (see Zeeman effect) cannot be predicted with just n, l, and m. A solution to this problem was suggested in early 1925 by George Uhlenbeck and Samuel Goudsmit, students of Paul Ehrenfest (who rejected the idea), and independently by Ralph Kronig, one of Landé's assistants. Uhlenbeck, Goudsmit, and Kronig introduced the idea of the self-rotation of the electron, which would naturally give rise to an angular momentum vector in addition to the one associated with orbital motion (quantum numbers l and m).

The spin angular momentum is characterized by a quantum number; s = 1/2 specifically for electrons. In a way analogous to other quantized angular momenta, L, it is possible to obtain an expression for the total spin angular momentum:

where

is the reduced Planck constant.

The hydrogen spectra fine structure is observed as a doublet corresponding to two possibilities for the z-component of the angular momentum, where for any given direction z:

whose solution has only two possible z-components for the electron. In the electron, the two different spin orientations are sometimes called "spin-up" or "spin-down".

The spin property of an electron would give rise to magnetic moment, which was a requisite for the fourth quantum number. The electron spin magnetic moment is given by the formula:

where

e is the charge of the electron

g is the Landé g-factor

and by the equation:

where is the Bohr magneton.

When atoms have even numbers of electrons the spin of each electron in each orbital has opposing orientation to that of its immediate neighbor(s). However, many atoms have an odd number of electrons or an arrangement of electrons in which there is an unequal number of "spin-up" and "spin-down" orientations. These atoms or electrons are said to have unpaired spins that are detected in electron spin resonance.