Describing sub-atomic particles the term "spin" is used. What does it mean in layman's terms?

Answer 1

Impossible. There's no layman's equivalent to the concept of an object with no radius (true point) having angular momentum. Nuclear particles have electromagnetic radii, but their mass is not distributed over that spherical area, so gravitationally subatomic particles are true points)

Not only that, but instead of having a continuum of possible momenta, subatomic particles can only have a small number of precise momenta (hence the "quantum" in quantum physics)

So you need to picture a point in space that behaves like it's spinning around a center of gravity, but it has no center of gravity because it has no radius. And it spins at three speeds: -1, 0, and 1. (some particles are + and - 1/2) But there's no in between, and transitions are literally instant.

The bottom line is, what makes quantum physics so difficult conceptually is that it has very little to do with the physical world we are used to. The rules are completely 100% different at that small of a scale, and since we will never be able to shrink down to that level to actually see it, all we can do is describe our observations mathematically. But there's no way to accurately depict this stuff visually because it's like nothing we've ever seen or will ever be able to see.

It's the mystery of the quantum universe!

Answer 2

"layman's terms" in this context means to relate it to concepts in classical mechanics, since laymen don't do so well with quantum mechanical concepts. In such terms, then, having spin simply means that a particle has an intrinsic angular momentum associated with it. It doesn't have to do anything to get it like move around or rotate or anything, and it can't even get rid of it, in general. How that is possible cannot be explained classically. It is, however, allowed in the quantum mechanics. Also according to QM, spin (and angular momentum in general) is "quantized", meaning that it can only occur as an integer multiple of the lowest nonzero angular momentum possible.

Answer 3

Do you surely need to flow there. Yopu do be attentive to the phrasing easy era replaced into possibly coined via christrians. after all, it is not any longer christ era it is christian era. it is not any secret that christians have ruled the planet militarily for the final 2000 years. even while the "BC" designation replaced into ordinary it merely shown what anybody already knew, the romans desperate to make their calendars coincide with their new chanced on faith. i'm confident if muslims take over they're going to chaznge the calendars to tournament their ideals and which will make it not extra or much less valid.

Answer 4

First answer has good insight. One other disturbing point. If you have a basketball, you spin it around 360 degrees and you're back to where you started. Now imagine having to do this TWICE to get back to where you started. Not much help is it.