Do not confuse that with electron "spin", which is something altogether different.
Each ket is labelled by the direction in which the electron spin points.
The "why" of electron spin is not really the way to verbalize the phenomenon.
This splitting is called fine structure, and was one of the first experimental evidences for electron spin.
The electron spin state couples to that of the nearby nitrogen atom's nucleus.
The theory would have correctly explained the Zeeman effect, except for the issue of electron spin.
For a metal (or any other substance) to be magnetic, it must have electron spin.
If one thinks of electron spin, or the curvature of space, these are not everyday ideas.
Add that these masses of gas are those systems in which electron spin can function as a storage capacity.
This is the role of electron spin in this design.