When a ball player hits the ball with the bat, it produces an enormous amount of force on the bat in a split second - the impact could mean up to 5,000 lbs of force. /Length 459 If the bat is at rest then we can define the ball speed ratio, Bounce Factor = q = (ball exit speed) / (incident ball speed). If the bat approaches a ball incident at speed v. Are heavy bats are more powerful than light bats? %PDF-1.1 When a ball player hits the ball with the bat, it produces an enormous amount of force on the bat in a split second the impact could mean up to 5,000 lbs of force. But how does a batter do it? If you are interested in diving deeper into the subject of the science of baseball bats, check out some of these great articles and research: You dont have to be scientist to get a sense of how baseball bats perform. A bat is essentially a long stick. Maple bats are the most durable and have a larger sweet spot, making them ideal for power hitters. One of these sweet spots relates to vibration. >> They can change their flight path after being exposed to different magnetic pulses, and scientists have discovered that big brown bats can adapt to these magnetic shocks. Each impact was recorded on a video camera at 25 frames/sec. The bat then magnifies that force by a factor of about 100-5,000 lb or so when it collides with the ball, enough to squash the ball in half. The collision of a bat and a ball can be understood by treating the bat as a heavy ball whose mass depends on the impact point. The bat barrel initially bends backwards away from the ball while the handle bends outward and the vibration in the handle causes the players top hand to lose contact with the handle. In this paper, we analyze the effect on the ball-bat model of corking the bat, and investigate the relationship between the sweet spot and different materials. If you are 91 to 120 pounds, it is recommended that you use a 29-inch bat. /V 10 0 R Similarly, an impact at the node of the second mode will not excite the second mode but it will excite the fundamental mode. Published Mar 30, 2018 4:11 PM EDT. As a smaller player, you will generally be able to achieve faster bat speeds with a lighter bat. The pain of hitting away from the sweet spot motivates you to learn how to find itthat, or buy a composite bat with a vibration damper in the handle. Last . Physics of Baseball & Softball R. Cross Published 22 February 2011 Physics, Education Preface.- 1. External forces are the only way to redirect the ball according to the first law of motion. << Coefficient of Restitution = Relative speed of bat and ball after collision/ relative speed before collision, where "speed of bat" is the speed of the bat at the impact point. There are some models that include oak, but it is not as popular as maple or ash. If the ball is struck at the sweet spot of the bat, then the batter feels almost no effect at all. /ColorSpace [/Indexed /DeviceRGB 255 28 0 R] 3) Care for your bat Wooden baseball bats are susceptible to cold and moisture. Pitching Mechanics.- 6. /V 7 0 R Each baseball bat has a sweet spot due to vibrational physics. A pitch produces a turbulent wake of air behind the ball. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". It is not easy to find information on the actual rate of spin of a softball in flight, but it is relatively easy to measure, at least at low ball speeds and low spin speeds. Adding to that is the fact that bats have narrower handles than in the past which makes the bat less sturdy and more prone to breakage. (The first person to really investigate sweet spots did so on tennis rackets.) The fundamental mode of a wood bat has a node located typically about 17 cm from each end and a frequency typically of about 170 Hz. throughout the paper. The first is where the bat feels best in your hands when you hit. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. So, why does the MLB still use wooden bats? Some of the numbers change with actual speed, but the physics doesnt change. Baseball Sweet Spot Science ScienceC 19.8K subscribers 19K views 6 years ago It turns out there's a lot of physics that goes into the sweet spot on a baseball bat! Hitting on the sweet spot ensures you dont lose any more energy to making vibrations inside the bat. Rather, most coaches and others think in terms of wrist torque, which is probably much too small to provide the necessary large couple near the end of the swing The couple must come mainly from the two arms, not the wrists. The second you swing one, there is a certain romance to it. Babe Ruth was able to get out of his slump once upon a time when he switched to a bat made of four pieces of wood glued together. The 232 g bat was swung at 45 radians/sec on average (by the batter in the film). This is why it is important that baseball bats are made out of a hard material that can maximize the energy transfer while also reducing the risk of injury to the player. >> Collisions.- 11.Bat Performance.- 12. The tangential COR is defined in the same way as the normal COR, but in terms of the horizontal speed of the ball at the contact point rather than the normal (ie vertical) speed of the contact point. It is very surprising that no one seems to have worked this out before. by Jessy Williamson | Mar 29, 2023 | Equipment. where V = bat speed at impact point just before the impact. There's no stinging, no vibration and no broken bat. Because of the weight distribution, drop 8 bats tend to have a higher weight per foot than standard 8 bats. Interesting information on the behaviour of a ball can be obtained by bouncing it on a force plate or on a piezo to measure force vs time. Its center of mass is 52.6 cm from the knob end. Explains r. cross, "the sweet spot of a baseball bat," american journal of physics, 66, 772-779. For those of us not trying to make it to the majors, using a wooden bat is mostly just a reminder that hitting a baseball is either painful or frustrating, depending on whether youve made contact with the ball or not. Near the end of the swing, the batter needs to exert a large negative couple on the bat, otherwise the bat will swing around too fast and strike the ball when it is aligned at the wrong angle. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". To increase the acceleration of the ball while it is still moving, a bat that strikes it harder will most likely accelerate faster. So, after a rainy day game, ensure your bat is dry before you store it. /R [52 73 308 791 ] Regardless of age, the weight of the right handers bat is crucial. 9 0 obj The relevant collision equations are derived in the Physics of Baseball and Softball book (and elsewhere) and are: 1. A great way to keep a rhythm throughout your swing is to step or stride toward the pitcher. If you hit the ball on the "sweet spot" of the bat, you get the feeling of a solid connection with the ball. /V 22 0 R endobj For example, a 33-inch bat with a -3 rating weighs 30 ounces. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. He is a proud supporter of his local team, the Toronto Blue Jays, and loves to explore the history and culture of the sport. Impact towards the taper region of the bat causes to bat to bend backward in the middle, and sends a vibration pulse down the handle. endobj Washington State University Sports Science Laboratory, You can get into the real nitty gritty of the science of MOI including complex equations by clicking through to the complete Bat-Ball Science Mass Moment of Inertia article, but well put it in laymans terms. Join PopSci+ to read sciences greatest stories. I tossed a 12 inch softball at very low speed and filmed the result, using two hands instead of one to increase the spin rate and to make sure the spin axis was horizontal. All of these are needed to hit a baseball at the Major League level. When a pitch is played, a turbulent stream of air runs behind the ball. Since F = m*dv/t, we can integrate the force waveform to measure ball speed vs time, then integrate v = dx/dt to measure the shift in the ball CM vs time. The Physics of Baseball. /N 22 0 R The experiment described below would be an ideal project on the physics of baseball, for any high school or University physics student. For small swings of a pendulum, the incoming and outgoing speed of the pendulum bob is proportional to its horizontal displacement, so the relevant ball speed ratios can be measured directly off the film with a ruler. Every sport is governed by the laws of science physics, aerodynamics, kinematics, etc. Hitting a baseball in the sweet spot on a baseball bat gives the best rebound and does not twist the handle of the bat in the hitter's hand. Also shown for comparison is a bounce off a heavy block of granite so that the COR of the ball can be determined. /BitsPerComponent 8 Preliminary In order to indicate the origin of the baseball bats problem, the following preliminary are worth mentioning. Nathan hopes to test the theory of Robert Adair, a Yale University physics professor and baseball guru, who believes the subjective sweet spot sits on the node where the bat's lowest frequency vibrations drop out. A high performance bat has a strong trampoline effect and hence a relatively large COR. /Filter /LZWDecode A superball has a COR of about 0.9, a baseball has a COR of about 0.5 and a sorbothane ball has a COR of about 0.1 (ie it hardly bounces at all). It minimizes vibration of the bat and results in the maximum energy delivered to the ball, meaning it travels the farthest. Both the swinging bat and the pitched ball possess kinetic energy, which is generated by the players who swing the bat and throw the ball. The impact of a bat and a ball is still not properly understood. However, the COP shifts a long way toward the handle when a batter holds the handle, and plays only a minor role in the feel of the bat for an impact at the sweet spot. The physics of the three sweet spots of a baseball bat is discussed and the location of the ball impact point on the bat that leads to maximum ''power'' (greatest batted ball speed) is determined. Step up to the batters box and get warmed up for the physics of baseball bats with this, You can get into the real nitty gritty of the science of MOI including complex equations by clicking through to the complete, If you have two bats, each with the same weight the bat that carries more weight in the end will perform better in terms of speed. Ball exit speed = q*vin where vin = incident ball speed. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The experiment described below would be an ideal project on the physics of baseball, for any high school or University physics student. The shoulders reach maximum speed first. These are effectively the same as the vibrations that travel through the air and reach your ear, where you hear them as sounds. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. What are the physics of hitting a baseball? The COR for the impact on the granite block is about 0.59 in the low speed collision here, but can be as low as 0.45 in a 100 mph collision. Typical results are shown here for a superball, a baseball and a sorbothane ball. A good power hitters bat is an end-loaded one, which allows the player to hit the ball farther. To get a better understanding of how science impacts your baseball bat, lets explore a few key scientific principles. 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