Can someone explain what's wrong with the spinning ball analogy? From my understanding, it's a pretty good first approximation of the physical interpretation of particle spin.
Elementary particles are dots for all intents and purposes. But dots can't spin. Spinning requires internal structure to notice spinning, but elementary particles don't have it.
Basically you don't need analogy at all.
Spin is inherent property of a particle like mass, charge, etc. It's quantum like charge. If lagrangian of interaction includes particle's spin, spin effects will be noticeable in scattering and everywhere.
Analogy is only needed to not mix spin with angular momentum.
Funny how in media spin is left and right, but in science spin is always "up" or "down". :-)
Well, for one thing it uses slang which is probably only vaguely recognizable to the majority of the non-American English-speaking world. And for another thing, it relies on a fact which I (starter on the (American) football team for five years during junior high and high school) didn't know. I mean, it makes sense that the two throwing styles would produce spins in the opposite direction, but I had to stop and think about it.
Basically you don't need analogy at all.
Spin is inherent property of a particle like mass, charge, etc. It's quantum like charge. If lagrangian of interaction includes particle's spin, spin effects will be noticeable in scattering and everywhere.
Analogy is only needed to not mix spin with angular momentum.
Funny how in media spin is left and right, but in science spin is always "up" or "down". :-)