Elementary particles possess an intrinsic quantum mechanical property known as spin.

This is
analogous to the angular momentum of an object that is spinning around its center of mass,
although strictly speaking these particles are believed to be point-like and cannot be said to be
rotating. Spin is measured in units of the reduced Planck constant (ħ), with electrons, protons and
neutrons all having spin ½ ħ, or "spin-½". In an atom, electrons in motion around the nucleus possess
orbital angular momentum in addition to their spin, while the nucleus itself possesses angular
momentum due to its nuclear spin.[86]

The magnetic field produced by an atom—its magnetic moment—is determined by these various
forms of angular momentum, just as a rotating charged object classically produces a magnetic field,
but the most dominant contribution comes from electron spin. Due to the nature of electrons to
obey the Pauli exclusion principle, in which no two electrons may be found in the same quantum
state, bound electrons pair up with each other, with one member of each pair in a spin up state and
the other in the opposite, spin down state. Thus these spins cancel each other out, reducing the
total magnetic dipole moment to zero in some atoms with even number of electrons