Spin
1.1 To draw out and twist (fibers) into thread. 1.1To form (thread or yarn) in this manner. 2. To form (a web or cocoon, for example) by extruding viscous filaments. 3. To make or produce by or as if by drawing out and twisting. 4.1 To relate or create: spun tales for the children. 4.2 To prolong or extend: spin out a visit with an old friend. 5. To cause to rotate swiftly; twirl. 6. To shape or manufacture by a twirling or rotating process. 7. To provide an interpretation of (a statement or event, for example), especially in a way meant to sway public opinion: “a messenger who spins bogus research into a vile theology of hatred” (William A. Henry III). 8. Slang. To play (a phonograph record or records), especially as a disc jockey.
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In physics, spin refers to the angular momentum intrinsic to a body, as opposed to orbital angular momentum, which is generated by the motion of its center of mass about an external point. In classical mechanics, the spin angular momentum of a body is associated with the rotation of the body around its own center of mass. For example, the spin of the Earth is associated with its daily rotation about the polar axis. On the other hand, the orbital angular momentum of the Earth is associated with its annual motion around the Sun.
In quantum mechanics, spin is particularly important for systems at atomic length scales, such as individual atoms, protons, or electrons. Such particles and the spin of quantum mechanical systems (“particle spin”) possesses several unusual or non-classical features, and for such systems, spin angular momentum cannot be associated with rotation but instead refers only to the presence of angular momentum.
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