zlacker

>>qqqqqu+(OP)
Quantum spin. Electrons aren't really spinning, right? But why do we call it spin? I know it has something to do with angular momentum. What are the possible values? Is it a magnitude or a vector? Is there a reason we call it "spin" instead of "taste" or some other arbitrary name? How do you change it? What happens to it when particles interact?

>>pjungw+uk
If you take some ball of charge and actually spin it, and then place in inside a magnetic field, it moves in a certain way. If you take a single electron and place it in a magnetic field, it moves in that same way as the ball of charge. Ergo, its natural to call the relevant intrinsic property of electrons "spin".