Electron Spin [ENDORSED]

[Alysia Garcia 1B]

For the Stern and Gerlach experiment I understand how electrons can be spun up or down but what is the meaning of ms=+1/2 and ms=-1/2?

[Adela Henry 1I]

ms=+1/2 just means that the electron is spinning up whereas ms=-1/2 means that the electron is spinning down

[Yadira Flores 1G]

I'm pretty sure because each electron has a different interaction based on each state, the +1/2 and -1/2 account for the spin up and spin down

[Liliana Rosales 1E]

Basically in the Stern and Gerlach experiment a beam of silver atoms was shot through a magnetic field and this single beam was divided (halved) into two beams after it passed through the magnetic field, this is why it +1/2 and -1/2. As it has been mentioned before, this also tells if an electron is spin up or spin down.

[Chem_Mod]

The + and - is not an arbitrary value and comes from quantum mechanical derivations that are beyond the scope of the class. All you need to understand is how the sign of the term is related to spin up or spin down.