You throw a rock at a Coke can sitting on a fence post. Good shot! As the can flies through the air, it spins as well. How can the change in the can's rotational motion be reconciled with conservation of angular momentum?
The first thing that needs to be remembered is that angular momentum is only conserved when no external torque is applied.
Initially the can was stationary, then it was hit by a rock which hit the can in such a way that it applied a torque about an axis on the can. Now the can starts to spin, then if there is any change in the spinning speed of the can it is at compensation of a probable loss of mass say, coke falling out of the can, in order to conserve angular momentum.
The conservation law thus can only be applied once the can has started to spin.
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