Thread: Spin

Can someone simply explain spin as well as Z bosons?

You made me realise how complex spin is.

why do electrons spin? why does water spin down a drain pipe? electromagnetism?

why does the earth spin?

Originally Posted by wallplaster

Can someone simply explain spin as well as Z bosons?

We discussed this just recently. Please see the thread Energy swirling around an electron

... spin may be regarded as an angular momentum generated by a circulating flow of energy...

Think of an electron being a point object which has (1) charge and (2) a magnetic moment. The Poynting vector, which defines momentum density, would be static and have a tangential component of the Poynting vector and no radial component. This means that electromagnetic energy is swirling around the electron. This momentum density is then used to caalulate the total electromagnetic angular momentum around the electron. That is what the spin is.