Physics of Baseball ANNOTATION
A look at the science of the sport -- what happens and why the ball behaves the way it does when thrown or batted.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
A Sterling Professor of Physics at Yale University provides a unique and fascinating perspective on America's favorite pastime.
Did you Know . . .An average head wind (10 miles per hour) can turn a 400-foot home run into a 370-foot out?A curve ball that seems to break over 14 inches never actually deviates from a straight line by more tha 3 1/2 inches?There is no such thing (except in softball) as a rising fastball?The collision of a ball on the bat lasts only about 1/1000th of a second?That a batted ball should be able to travel no father than 545 feet?
Author Biography: Robert K. Adair was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and received both his bachelor's and doctoral degrees in physics from the University of Wisconsin. He taught physics at Wisconsin and has taught at Yale University since 1959. He has also been associated with the Brookhaven National Laboratory, most recently as associate director of nuclear and high-energy physics.
Professor Adair has written many scientific articles, several textbooks, and one other book for general readers, The Great Design: Particles, Fields, and Creation. His hobbies are physics research, hikes with his wife—and studying baseball.
FROM THE CRITICS
New York Times Book Review
Fascinating and irresistible.
Wall Street Journal
An absolutely wonderful compendium of little know fact about the national pastime.
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