  The 'Sling effect' appears when a fragment of a projectile nucleus emitted
after its peripheral collision with a target nucleus is caused to rotate with a
high spin. The spinning fragment has a deformed shape and looks like an oblate
ellipsoid. Due to the virtual non-compressibility of nuclear matter, and the
polarization of the spin in the plane transverse to the input momentum of the
projectile nucleus such an ellipsoid has a reduced mean interaction
cross-section compared with a non-spinning fragment which has a spherical
shape. Purely geometrical arguments dictate that such an ellipsoidal nucleus
should have additional fluctuations of cross-section even at a fixed impact
parameter dependent on the orientation angle between the axis of the ellipsoid
and the vector connecting the centers of projectile and target nucleus. The
number of 'wounded nucleons' in the projectile nucleus participating in the
interaction correlates strongly with the interaction cross-section. All these
effects lead to a non-exponential attenuation of fragments and increased
probability for a fragment to penetrate down to a larger depth in the absorber,
than normal.
  If the sling effect appears in the interaction of a primary cosmic ray
nucleus with nuclei in the atmosphere the induced atmospheric cascade will have
a slower attenuation, and thereby can help to reduce some important
inconsistencies in the interpretation of the existing experimental data on
extensive air showers, observed in the lower half of the atmosphere. The paperr
gives numerical estimates of the sling effect.
