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Does the spin of a nucleus have kinetic energy?


Giorgio T.

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The way I interpret things...
( as if any one cares )

Macroscopic objects do rotate classically, and have an associated energy due to this rotation.

Molecules is where the transition starts between classical and quantum. A molecule can have a rotational degree of freedom, like vibrational ( stretching ) and translational and an associated energy. But even so, for some tightly coupled molecules it is impossible to treat this spin as classical.

When we get down to the level of atoms, nuclei  or particles, we are strictly speaking in the quantum domain. Classical spin has to be discarded and is nonsensical.

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