# Spin actually is?

1. Jan 11, 2004

### EIRE2003

Hey I am new to this and im studing physics on my own and im just wondering wat Spin actually is? is it when a particle such as a gluon is in a spin, in motion wit atomic geometry?

Last edited: Jan 11, 2004
2. Jan 13, 2004

### suyver

One way to think about spin is the following: when a particle has spin $s$, that means that when you rotate the particle over $360/s$ degrees the particle will look the same. So, spin 1 particles have to be rotated 360 degrees, but spin 2 particles have a higher symmetry and need only to be rotated over 180 degrees. Interestingly, there are also particles with spin 1/2 (such as the electron). That means that they do not look the same when you rotate them over 360 degrees! Only when rotated over twice 360 degrees will such a particle look the same. Quantum-fun...

Last edited: Jan 13, 2004
3. Jan 13, 2004

### benzun_1999

Which direction will the spin be in space where there is no direction.
how will you measure an angle there?

-benzun