But to fully answer this question for the ages, we need to get specific and determine exactly where these spinners are.
If the fidget spinners were used somewhere built for humans, like the International Space Station (ISS), then the answer is somewhat easy: The fidget spinners would work very similarly to those spun on Earth.
"A spinner on ISS would still be subject to friction and air resistance which would still cause it to stop spinning," NASA spokesman Dan Huot said via email.
Basically, fidget spinners work thanks to nifty low-friction ball bearings that allow the outer mechanism to just spin and spin around its central axis.
Even on the Space Station, the (albeit low) friction and air pressure would still slow the spinner down to eventually stop it.
Now, once you take the spinner outside into the vacuum of space, things get a little more interesting.
If an astronaut were to spin the fidget spinner on its axis, it would probably spin for a bit longer than it would on the Space Station if only because of the lack of air pressure.
But even so, eventually the spinner would stop because of friction — or the ball bearing falling apart, whichever comes first.
If that astronaut managed to get the entire spinner twirling around — not just on its axis, but the whole device — then it would basically spin forever.
"If it's in vacuum and it doesn't hit anything, then it should spin for a very, very long time," theoretical physicist Robert McNees said. "Though, even then, there are things that (over interminably long timescales) will cause it to slow down."
The funny thing is, low-friction has actually been a useful part of a NASA mission in the past, according to Columbia University astrophysicist Summer Ash.
Article here:http://mashable.com/2017/06/17/fidget-spinner-spinning-in-space/?utm_cid=hp-hh-pri#rmuPPBMmcqqO