Now Playing Tracks

jtotheizzoe: The Physics of Baseball Pitches Five ounces of cork, yarn and leather is all it takes to produce high-velocity, mind-blowing physics. The movement of a baseball through the air is due to three things: The pitcher’s arm (moving it forward), gravity (moving it down), and air resistance from the spinning seams (which causes side-to-side, sinking and “rising” motion). Gravity will always pull a pitch down as it travels to the plate, but back and side spin create areas of high pressure on one side of the ball (“The Magnus Effect”, named for its discoverer). This creates a force that pushes the ball in the opposite direction, whether it be sideways (likea  slider), down (a sinker), or causing it to sink more slowly than normal (the “rising” pitch illusion). Check out: The physics behind 7 famous baseball pitches All about The Magnus Effect A 1959 paper studying the aerodynamics of a pitched baseball (where they wind tunnel shot above came from). A Science Channel video all about the physics of pitching For the truly curious, a REALLY in-depth and technical look into the physics of moving baseballs Some believe that current pitchers have reached the biomechanical limits for pitch velocity and movement. When you consider the sheer neuromuscular perfection seen in this jaw-dropping overlaid GIF of the Rangers’ Yu Darvish, I can see how that might appear to be the case (via Reddit): Perhaps more than in any other sport, baseball pitchers embody the astonishing combination of precision and power in the heart of our motor neurons: Producing unbelievable force and grace, with nearly identical repetition, a couple hundred times a week. 
Zoom

jtotheizzoe:

The Physics of Baseball Pitches

Five ounces of cork, yarn and leather is all it takes to produce high-velocity, mind-blowing physics. The movement of a baseball through the air is due to three things: The pitcher’s arm (moving it forward), gravity (moving it down), and air resistance from the spinning seams (which causes side-to-side, sinking and “rising” motion).

Gravity will always pull a pitch down as it travels to the plate, but back and side spin create areas of high pressure on one side of the ball (“The Magnus Effect”, named for its discoverer). This creates a force that pushes the ball in the opposite direction, whether it be sideways (likea  slider), down (a sinker), or causing it to sink more slowly than normal (the “rising” pitch illusion).

Check out:

Some believe that current pitchers have reached the biomechanical limits for pitch velocity and movement. When you consider the sheer neuromuscular perfection seen in this jaw-dropping overlaid GIF of the Rangers’ Yu Darvish, I can see how that might appear to be the case (via Reddit):

Perhaps more than in any other sport, baseball pitchers embody the astonishing combination of precision and power in the heart of our motor neurons: Producing unbelievable force and grace, with nearly identical repetition, a couple hundred times a week. 

To Tumblr, Love Pixel Union