ST. LOUIS -- When the Boston Red Sox signed Mike Napoli this past winter, there were a number of possible outcomes. He could hit a little, the way he had in 2012, putting up an OPS+ of 113. He could hit a lot, like he had in 2011, with a 173 OPS+ and 30 home runs. Most likely, he'd fall somewhere in between.
The fourth quantum number is the spin quantum number, s. There are only two values for s, +Â½ and -Â½. These are also referred to as 'spin up' and 'spin down'. This number is used to explain behavior of individual electrons as if they were spinning in a clockwise or counterclockwise.
As with all orbitals the number of radial nodes increases with the principle quantum number (i.e. the 2s orbital has one radial node, the 3s has two etc.). Because the angular momentum quantum number is 0, there is only one choice for the magnetic quantum number - there is only one s orbital per shell.