What is, really, the spin of an electron?

Question

(sorry for my english)

Hi everyone,

Earlier today, i was studying the electronic distribution of atoms and it was all going fine until it got to the part about spin. My textbook presented spin as if it was just a fact, with no causes or consequences, which is weird, since my physics teacher always tells us to try to contextualize phenomena so, i decided to do some research into why electrons spin, and it consequences.

I’ve spent pretty much the whole day trying to understand what causes the electron to spin, and what arises from it, but I still couldn’t find a satisfactory answer. At first, I read that the spin of electrons create the magnetic field of an atom, but then another page told me that it has little do with it. Then, there’s a whole thing that they don’t actually spin at all, which confused me even further.

To be frank I’m completely lost in the matter, and I would appreciate any direction as to Why and How the electron spins, and if the spin is what creates the magnetic field or not.

Thanks,

Terec

In: Physics

Answer 1

If you follow your physics teacher’s advice and always try to contextualise phenomena with analogies to ‘real’ things, you’re going to continue having a bad time with grasping quantum physics.
Asking what quantum phenomena ‘really’ are leads to a dead-end, because they don’t act like ‘real’ objects you can see, hold or draw.
One of the best things you can do in the subject is consciously avoid trying to think of analogies and mental models that use familiar concepts like thinking of electrons as little spinning balls. At this level they can hinder more than they help.
Concentrate on the mathematical rules and equations – think of electrons as a mathematical definition that happens to have some emergent ‘real-seeming’ properties if you look at them from a certain angle, rather than a real ‘thing’ that has mathematical rules attached.
Eventually once you are thoroughly familiar with the mathematics, you will have a new mental model of the electron that you can ‘imagine’, in a way, and not be wildly wrong. This is probably the best that a non-genius can hope for when understanding quantum physics!