The Science of Spin: A Baseball Pendulum *
*Note: This is an abbreviated Project Idea, without notes to start your background research, a specific list of materials, or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated Project Ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.
Abstract
For this project, you'll use a baseball as a pendulum weight, studying the motion of the ball with and without spin. Wrap a rubber band around the ball, and tie a string to the rubber band. Fasten the string so that the ball hangs down and can swing freely. Mark a regular grid on cardboard, and place it directly beneath the ball to measure the motion. You can also time the oscillations with a stopwatch. Lift the ball along one of the grid axes, and let it go. Observe the motion and record your results. Next, twist the string 50–100 times, and again lift the ball along one of the grid lines and let it go. How does spinning change the motion of the pendulum? Try changing the orientation of the seams of the ball: is the pendulum motion affected? What happens if you wind the string in the opposite direction? Can your results help you explain how a pitcher throws a curve ball? (Idea from Goodstein, 1999, 50–53. Adair, 2002, has an extensive treatment of baseball aerodynamics.)Share your story with Science Buddies!
I Did This Project!
Please log in and let us know how things went.
Last edit date: 2013-01-10
Bibliography
- Adair, R. K., 2002. The Physics of Baseball: Third Edition, Revised, Updated and Expanded. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
- Goodstein, M., 1999. Sports Science Projects: The Physics of Balls in Motion. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers.
Share your story with Science Buddies!
I Did This Project!
Please log in and let us know how things went.
Ask an Expert
The Ask an Expert Forum is intended to be a place where students can go to find answers to science questions that they have been unable to find using other resources. If you have specific questions about your science fair project or science fair, our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.Ask an Expert
Related Links
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:
Physicist
Physicists have a big goal in mind—to understand the nature of the entire universe and everything in it! To reach that goal, they observe and measure natural events seen on Earth and in the universe, and then develop theories, using mathematics, to explain why those phenomena occur. Physicists take on the challenge of explaining events that happen on the grandest scale imaginable to those that happen at the level of the smallest atomic particles. Their theories are then applied to human-scale projects to bring people new technologies, like computers, lasers, and fusion energy. Read more
Physics Teacher
Our universe is full of matter and energy, and how that matter and energy moves and interacts in space and time is the subject of physics. Physics teachers spend their days showing and explaining the marvels of physics, which underlies all the other science subjects, including biology, chemistry, Earth and space science. Their work serves to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers, including all healthcare professionals. They also help all students better understand their physical world and how it works in their everyday lives, as well as how to become better citizens by understanding the process of scientific research. Read more
