| Science Behind Strikeouts - Science Insider
Reported June 2009
BASEBALL BAT SCIENCE: Baseball bats are traditionally made from wood. Bats used in amateur baseball are almost always metal or even composite. Wood bats do not deform much when striking the ball, but the ball itself does, squishing up and then rebounding off the bat. When the ball hits a hollow bat (metal or composite), it does not deform very much, but the bat does. The bat then rebounds like a spring and returns that lost energy back to the ball, which is called the trampoline effect. Hollow bats are also designed to have a larger sweet spot on the barrel, meaning that a larger portion of the bat is able to impart the greatest amount of energy from the swing into the flight of the ball.
SWINGING A BAT: The most efficient way to swing a bat starts with the large muscles in the lower body, like in the thighs and hips. The rotational energy of those muscles is transferred upward to smaller muscles until it is transferred to the arms, to the hands, and onto the bat.
SCIENCE OF THROWING HARD: Being the strongest baseball player does not necessarily make it easier to throw harder. In order to throw the ball hard, the pitcher must use his strength efficiently, which can be accomplished by throwing with a proper motion. Conveniently, this same motion allows pitchers to maximize the speed at which they throw, and minimizes their chance of injury, because it imparts the least stress on the elbow and shoulder.
The American Association of Physics Teachers contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Howard Zelaznik
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN. 47907
(765) 494-5601
hnzelaz@purdue.edu
American Association of Physics Teachers
College Park, MD
(301) 209-3311
http://www.aapt.org
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