
Originally Posted by
Hetman
When you rotate the ball on the line, then it does not spin.
Only detached from the rope, or when it is free, it can spin.
The problem with that kind of reasoning, is that it leads people to imagine some weird unknown force that is keeping one face of the Moon always towards Earth, as though the Moon were that ball. What's the string?
(e.g. do you claim that the tidal/gravitational forces that science thinks has over time made the rotation of the Moon match it's orbit of the Earth, is actually strong enough to simply "hold" one face of the Moon towards Earth, the way your string holds that ball?)

Originally Posted by
Hetman
A player running around the stadium is not spinning.
I'd say that runner is rotating, around an axis down through the top of their head, while also translating that axis.
The force that causes both the rotation and translation is supplied by their feet against the track.
If they didn't apply a force to rotate, they'd run off the track.
(Not being free from friction, they don't simply continue to rotate the way they would, floating space.)

Originally Posted by
Hetman
It is even more controversial case: rolling (without sliding).
Here the body rotates about an axis, which is on its periphery.
This is probably the famous half-spin.

So if a bowling ball rolls down the lane, where do you claim the axis of rotation is?
Get up, a get-get, get down.