What is the spin of electron in atomic hydrogen? Clockwise or anticlockwise.

1 Answer
Jul 18, 2018

Either

Explanation:

In a Hydrogen there is only 1 electron it can orbit in either direction.
the spin of an electron is entirely arbitrary. The only reason electrons have spin is to avoid sharing the same space with another electron. Pauli's exclusion principle explains that because of both electrons having a negative charge the electrons will repel each other. This means that if two electrons are in the same orbital the electrons must have opposite spins or one will be forced out of the orbit.

In Hydrogen with only one electron, the electron does not have to share the orbital with a second electron so spin does not matter