Professors: Heather Lewandowski and Chuck Rogers
| You can think of the ball like a spring. The ball comes into the bat, compresses against the bat and then the ball changes direction and expands back into its original shape. The forces that act on that bat are in the range of 6,000-10,000lbs and happen in the time span of 1/1000 of a second. This is a very violent collision. That is also why in the major leagues a baseball is used for an average of 4-5 pitches. Every time a ball is hit it gets deformed from all the force that is applied to it. The ball actually compresses to about an inch. In this process a lot of energy is lost. It is lost into the form of heat, friction, sound and vibrations. These vibrations are also known to have broken bats. When the ball collides in the areas that cause more vibrations, the batter will know! These vibrations cause a stinging sensation, however if the batter hits the ball right in the sweet spot, located about 5 inches in from the bat, then less or no vibrations are caused and more energy goes into the ball causing it go a further distance. |
Week 9 Summary of things to do during the ninth week:
Here is a map to the location of the exam. Reading: Chapter 8 in Young and Freedman. Homework: CAPA set #9 I welcome your comments on the class and this website. Send them to lewandoh@colorado.edu
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