Topic > The Physics of Baseball

IndexWhat is the "Sweet Spot"?How to Find the Sweet SpotThe TargetMany people might think that swinging the bat through the ball is enough to hit the ball a decent distance from the bat. There are many other mechanisms involved in the oscillation process. Muscles have only a small part to play in swinging a club for power. There are two types of mechanics involved while swinging a club, linear and rotational. Rotational mechanics are the dominant source of power in the swing. The two forces that help generate the speed and power of the swing come from rotational mechanics, the torque and the other comes from the energy of the rotation. The speed resulting from the rotational energy comes from the path your hands follow as you swing the club. The speed generated by the circular rotation of your hands is like a ball at the end of a string, as long as your hands move in a circle, the ball continues to accelerate in a circle. Then the club will also move at an increasing speed as long as your hands follow a circular path as you swing. Any forward movement of the hands or body in a straight line will not increase the overall speed of the club. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayTorque is another key ingredient for a good power hitter, or even a good batsman. Torque is the result of two forces applied to an object in opposite directions. In this case the two forces are applied from the hands and wrists to the club. When you begin your swing, instead of moving your hands directly towards the ball, you want your hands to begin a rotation. The top hand begins to move backwards as the lead arm pushes the butt of the club towards the ball. The torque in question is created around the tip of the club that is in your hands. This torque significantly accelerates the club head which will act with greater force when (or if) it makes contact with the ball. A good hitter will use almost all of this rotational and torque energy before or during contact with the ball. ball. After contact, your body is relaxed and the remaining movement is smooth, this extra movement is caused by the momentum of the club pulling your arms up and across. Your follow through is also very important, even if the ball has already been hit, it is ideal that you complete your swing so you don't lose your balance due to the extra momentum when you start running. So just remember these three things: While swinging keep your hands moving in a circular motion. Remember to rotate your wrist as you swing. And always follow. The most obvious difference between a wooden bat and a metal one are the sounds each creates when struck by the ball. I too have a thing for the sound of a wooden mallet. These differences occur due to the different vibrations that occur in each material. A wooden bat has fewer vibrating waves than a metal one. This gives the metal bat a bigger “sweet spot,” but also causes a bigger sting if you miss that sweet spot. So what would be a give and take for the use of metal bats has been changed thanks to new technology. The new metal bats have some qualities that help dull the pain of a badly hit ball. The “ping” sound made by a metal bat was also a sign of the “trampoline effect.” This effect is thought to allow an aluminum bat to "bounce" the ball further and faster off the bat. Compared to a wooden bat, there is little difference if both clubs hit the ball in their sweet spots. The metal bat "effect" kicks ingame when you lose the sweet spot. When you practice a little with a wooden bat, the bat takes kinetic energy away from the ball, resulting in a weaker shot. With a metal bat the bending vibrations still take away energy, but the cylinder vibrations return that energy to the ball. There are times when the bounced energy can be greater than the energy originally taken from the ball, causing it to fly off the bat much faster than the pitcher had thrown it. This raises many safety concerns regarding whether or not metal bats should be used in lower-level baseball leagues. What is the "Sweet Spot"? The "sweet spot" is the area of ​​the club where you get the most "pop"' off the bat. It is the ideal place to hit the ball for distance. In most bats the sweet spot is about 17cm from the end of the barrel. Every hitter can feel when you've hit the sweet spot or not, if you swing and connect and don't really feel anything then it's a good bet you're hitting in the middle of the sweet spot. If your hands hurt after hitting the ball, it means you missed the right spot and there are times when you really want to hit that "spot". The sweet spot exists because of the vibrations that occur in the club. You become quite aware of these vibrations if you hit the ball off the end of the club or too close to the shaft. In reality the weak point exists due to the lack of vibrations that occur at that point. When a bat is swung, it is bent enough to excite two different frequencies of vibration. These vibrations create two separate nodes towards the end of the club. A node is a point where the amplitude of vibrations is equal to zero, there are practically no vibrations at this point. The area between the two nodes in a club is the sweet spot. If you hit the ball too far from the knot, a lot of energy is transferred from the ball and through the club further exciting the vibrations. As you can see in the diagram above, the vibrations get worse the closer you get to the racket handle. When the club is struck between the nodes, little energy is transferred into the vibrations of the club. This allows the ball to move off the bat at a faster rate. It's not enough to hit a home run every time, but it's much better. How to Find the Sweet Spot To find the sweet spot in a sledgehammer, all you need is a hammer, sledgehammer, and a friend can use an extra pair of hands. Have your friend hold the club lightly by the handle knob on the club. Start pounding with the hammer from the barrel of the mallet. Your friend, or however he is holding the club, will be able to feel the vibrations as you hit the club, when you hit the club and no vibrations are felt, or little vibrations are felt, then it is a good bet that you have found the " weak point". You can also tell by the sound the bat will make when hit in its knot. The target (or what's inside a baseball) The ball, an ever-elusive target for hitters. The best hitter in the world hit the ball only 4 times out of 10, a good hitter barely hits the ball 3 times out of 10 at bat. The only difference in today's game is that the balls fly farther than in the past. The baseball exterior has changed little over the years, but the interior has been redone several times over the decades. They were made so you can fly further. External dimensions and materials are the same as the 1872, 5 ounces and 9 inches in circumference, with a leather skin and exactly 108 stitches. But the interior has changed radically. The basic shape of a ball of yarn is the same under the skin: rubbery cement, four wraps.