Bat Plane - True or False

[Mudders Brudder]

What I'm asking is whether the following scenario is true or false:

If you find the exact point that the bat makes contact with the ball, and then, starting at that point, draw a line through the center of the ball and then out the other side of the ball, the initial direction of the ball flight will be along that line, regardless of which direction the bat and ball were moving at the time of contact.

Is that true or false?

False. Because if just that one moment in time was all that determined it, than there'd be no explaining the various ball spins as Eric mentioned, that cause the different movements of the ball in flight after contact that I stated above.

The only way I can explain the various after contact movements of the ball...is that the ball doesn't always, instantly leave the bat at contact, but rather in some instances, the bat continues to move in its predetermined path with the ball still making contact with it, and thus accounts for the various spins that can/will result from that add time of bat of on ball. JMO obviously...OMMV.

 

[jamesd1628]

Spin is a factor in what a ball ultimately does after it's hit, but that is due to the existence of air. Maybe I should have presupposed a vacuum for the hypothetical.

 

[julray]

What I'm asking is whether the following scenario is true or false:

If you find the exact point that the bat makes contact with the ball, and then, starting at that point, draw a line through the center of the ball and then out the other side of the ball, the initial direction of the ball flight will be along that line, regardless of which direction the bat and ball were moving at the time of contact.

Is that true or false?

In relation to what? The bat or the ground?

 

[bmakj]

both matter, where the ball contacts the bat, and the path of both bat and ball. in physics, the vector (direction and velocity) of each object in a collision both determine the exit vector (direction and velocity), and then of course there is spin, which is imparted by both the direction of each movement at point of contact, and the spin of ball and barrel of bat at contact (think having a basketball motionless on your finger, then using your other hand to start it rotating.

in other words, really complicated.

 

[Mudders Brudder]

Spin is a factor in what a ball ultimately does after it's hit, but that is due to the existence of air. Maybe I should have presupposed a vacuum for the hypothetical.

Upon further investigation, I don't believe that "contact" is a single frame of reference, and that the path of the bat determines where the ball ultimately goes after "contact" (spin or not)....

 

[julray]

Thinking about a Tennis player making a slice shot. Slice shot in tennis involves opening the face of the racket, and path equals down and through. Now make that same shot, keep the racket of the face open with a top spin motion. Same Result?

 

[jamesd1628]

In relation to what? The bat or the ground?

You can draw a line from one point on a bill, through the center of the ball, and then out the other side of the ball, without reference to either the bat or the ground.

 

[jamesd1628]

Upon further investigation, I don't believe that "contact" is a single frame of reference, and that the path of the bat determines where the ball ultimately goes after "contact" (spin or not)....

Has anyone ever experienced a ball staying on the bat for that long after contact, or compressing that much?

 

[Rolling Hard]

Has anyone ever experienced a ball staying on the bat for that long after contact, or compressing that much?

no, there is no way that is a real baseball.
To the original question .... plane and direction are 2 different things. So the question is tough to answer. For example, my DD has a good swing plane but sometimes saws across the ball (bad direction) creating undesirable side spin instead of desirable backspin.

 

[ArmWhip]

You have to account for friction in the contact. If it were 2 billiard balls (round objects basically friction free) the answer is true.