this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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The problem here is that rotation makes only sense for objects that have a size. So you can say "this is the left side" and "now this part rotated to the right". This concept doesn't make sense for a particle that is a literal dot. The spin is a characteristics of particles that mathematically behaves like a rotation (freely speaking), therefore we treat it like that. That doesn't mean it is a rotation.
The only thing to keep in mind is that although particles are dimensionless (as far as we know), the do not exist without context. Spin relates to how a particle is linked to the rest of the world.
One way of seeing it is that spin can be represented by a "rotational polarisation" of the surrounding cloud of virtual particles.