Is Electron Spin always Well Balanced?

[Zoey]

Just curious. Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[jtbell]

Just curious. What do you mean by "well balanced"?

 

[Zoey]

Just curious. What do you mean by "well balanced"?

Hi,
I just mean like not randomly going all over the place. So basically like if they are steady or not :)

 

[Matthew Smith]

Hi,
I just mean like not randomly going all over the place. So basically like if they are steady or not :)

As the electron displays an intrinsic angular momentum, you might expect a magnetic moment which follows the form of that for an electron orbit. The Z-component of magnetic moment associated with the electron spin would then be expected to be, but, the measured value turns out to be actually about twice as that. The electron spin magnetic moment is important in the spin-orbit interaction which splits atomic energy levels and gives rise to fine structure in the spectra of atoms. The electron spin magnetic moment is also a factor in the interaction of atoms with external magnetic fields (look for Zeeman effect). The term "electron spin" could not to be taken literally in the classical sense as a description of the origin of the magnetic moment described above. To be sure, a spinning sphere of charge can produce a magnetic moment, but the magnitude of the magnetic moment obtained above cannot be reasonably modeled by considering the electron as a spinning sphere.