Experiments are done by colliding a swinging bat with a stationary baseball or softball. Each collision was recorded with high-speed cameras from which the post-impact speed, launch angle, and spin of the ball could be determined. Initial bat speeds were in the range 63–88 mph, producing launch angles in the range 0°–30° and spins in the range 0–3,500 rpm. The results are analyzed in the context of a ball-bat collision model, and the parameters of that model are determined. For both baseballs and softballs, the data are consistent with a mechanism whereby the ball grips the surface of the bat, stretching the ball in the transverse direction and resulting in a spin that was up to 40% greater than would be obtained by rolling contact of rigid bodies. Using a lumped parameter contact model, baseballs are shown to be less compliant tangentially than softballs. Implications of our results for batted balls in game situations are presented.
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).© 2017 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2017
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