Abstract
Electron spin is of obvious importance in chemistry. It is therefore surprising that even textbooks with Quantum titles often make no attempt to provide an intelligible account thereof. It is more fashionable to introduce the concept as a mystery with its origin in either relativity or deep quantum theory. This state of affairs is only partially explained by the fact that the Schrodinger equation was formulated (1) before the recognition of electron spin (2, 3) because several proposals outlining a physical basis of spin were published soon after (4, 5). The overriding consideration seems to be that a consistent mathematical description of the two-level spin system emerged for the first time in Dirac's relativistic wave equation (6). Thereby spin could be described as a relativistic effect without further elucidation.
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