Why do we always start with "up" spin?
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Why do we always start with "up" spin?
When writing electron configurations for atoms in their ground state, why do we always start with electrons having an up spin when filling a subshell? If the ground state just denotes the lowest energy state of the atom, why does it matter whether we fill one orbital with up spin and then the next orbital with down spin and just assign random spins until we are forced to put more than one electron in an orbital and obviously have to now pair spins? Does it matter or does using a down spin first or mixing down spins and up spins put the atom in an excited state?
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Re: Why do we always start with "up" spin?
I'm assuming its just for clarity/ease. The value +1/2 or -1/2 doesn't actually affect the energy levels of the electron in any equation, its just a symbolic notation of which specific electron is being referred to.
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Re: Why do we always start with "up" spin?
I don't think it matters, it just symbolizes the direction of the electron's spin. The +/- of the 1/2 denotes the direction of the spin of the electron, and has no relation to the energy level of it.
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