Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi, My name is garrett aubert and my school is currently conducting a science fair project. A section of this project requires me to interview an expert on my subject of aerodynamics to better understand my project. I would greatly appreciate if somebody would respond to my interview.

1. What is the science behind aerodynamics?

2. What would be the effects to a scuffed wiffle ball compared to a smooth wiffle ball? (scuffing is making the surface of a wiffle ball rough, giving it more wind resistance and adding to the surface area)

3. Would scuffing a wiffle ball magnify the curve or minimize it?

4.would it drastically change the outcome of the spin, or would it hardly make a difference?

5.current Wiffle ball players are scuffing up the balls that they use in your opinion, would this technique be worth the time to do?

Hello baseballgarrett,

Here are some answers to your interview questions.

• 1) What is the science behind aerodynamics? Aerodynamics is a specialty of fluid dynamics. The movement of fluids is important in many contexts: aerodynamics, ship design, erosion of rivers and harbors by water flow, blood flow in arteries, and many others. Fluid dynamics is a complex field because fluids can move in so many ways. Turbulent flow is responsible for many interesting and useful effects but can be described only with very complex equations. Finding better ways to describe turbulence is an active area of research.
  2) What would be the effects to a scuffed wiffle ball compared to a smooth wiffle ball? (scuffing is making the surface of a wiffle ball rough, giving it more wind resistance and adding to the surface area)? A new Wiffle ball is quite smooth, so air flows over it (at least at low speeds) smoothly. The scuffs induce turbulence in the airflow and casue the air to exert more friction on the ball. I don't think anyone has studied the aerodynamics of a scuffed Wiffle ball thoroughly enough to explain all the effects. People who are expert Wiffle ball throwers know what the scuffing does to a pitch, ut tthey probably don't understand the details of why.
  3) Would scuffing a wiffle ball magnify the curve or minimize it? I think it depends on how the ball is thrown. The effect of spin around an axis of the ball probably depends strongly on what spin axis the pitcher uses.
  4)would it drastically change the outcome of the spin, or would it hardly make a difference? I understand that expert pitchers can get very dramatic effects with a scuffed ball. Considering the light weight of a Wiffle ball and its large surface area, the airflow can certainly move the ball a lot.
  5) current Wiffle ball players are scuffing up the balls that they use in your opinion, would this technique be worth the time to do? This is a question best answered experimentally. As I mentioned above, turbulent air flow is complex and hard to describe theoretically. On the other hand, expert pitchers answer your question with a resounding, "Yes!"

Good luck, WW