Do Electrons Spin?

Deep inside all matter in the universe, electrons are buzzing around and behaving as if they are twirling around on their axes like spinning tops. These "spinning" electrons are fundamental to quantum physics and play a central role in our understanding of atoms and molecules. Other subatomic particles spin, too, and the study of spin has technical applications in the fields of chemistry, physics, medicine, and computer electronics. But many physicists will tell you that electrons are not really spinning-they merely act like it. For example, electrons have angular momentum, which is the tendency of something to keep rotating-like a moving bicycle wheel or a spinning skater-and because they have this property, one might conclude they are spinning. Further evidence comes from the fact that electrons act like little magnets, and magnetic fields arise from rotating charged bodies. The problem with the notion that electrons spin is, due to their miniscule size, the electrons would have to be spinning faster than the speed of light to match observed angular momentum values.