The Pauli exclusion principle is the quantum mechanical principle that states that two identical fermions (particles with half-integer spin) cannot occupy the same quantum state simultaneously. In the case of electrons, it can be stated as follows: it is impossible for two electrons of a poly-electron atom to have the same values of the four quantum numbers: n, the principal quantum number, , the angular momentum quantum number, m, the magnetic quantum number, and m_s, the spin quantum number. For two electrons residing in the same orbital, n, , and m are the same, so m_s, the spin, must be different, and thus the electrons have opposite half-integer spins, 1/2 and -1/2. This principle was formulated by Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli in 1925.