  The huge spin precession frequency observed in recent experiments with
spin-polarized beams of hot electrons shot through magnetized films is
interpreted as being caused by Zeeman coupling of the electron spins to the
so-called Weiss exchange field in the film. A "Stern-Gerlach experiment" for
electrons moving through an inhomogeneous exchange field is proposed. The
microscopic origin of exchange interactions and of large mean exchange fields,
leading to different types of magnetic order, is elucidated. A microscopic
derivation of the equations of motion of the Weiss exchange field is presented.
Novel proofs of the existence of phase transitions in quantum XY-models and
antiferromagnets, based on an analysis of the statistical distribution of the
exchange field, are outlined.
