Physics of the Baseball Fields
Oakland Athletics baseball stadium
http://www.baseball-statistics.com/Ballparks/Oak/oak-picture.jpg
Physics of the Air Flow of the Field
The physics behind the design of a
baseball stadium is in all essence more inclusive than what would first
believe. Besides the obvious physics
involved in the construction process, the shape of the stadium besides
for all
aesthetic purposes has practical means as well.
The picture of the stadium to the right is of the Oakland
Athletics
baseball complex. It has a practical
means is to seat thousands of people to watch a competitive sport
amongst
athletes. In addition the field was
positioned so that as the wind whips through the stadium, the wind will
accelerate over the crests of the outer wall of the stadium, accelerate
down to
the field, and then whip back up over on the other side.
The wind speeds up due to the conservation of
momentum. The wind must match up with
the adjacent pair particle, and must in turn accelerate in order to
match up
with it on the other side. This is
similar in respect to the reason lift is achieved on a wing. The initial acceleration is positioned so
that the wind starts at home plate then it carries out throughout the
rest of
the field. This allows for the ball to
“carry” when a high ball is hit. The
ball’s flight is altered by the wind and allows for additional velocity
to be
added to the ball which causes an extended flight time and higher hit
ball.
Physics
of field (turf vs. dirt)
Additionally, the field turf adds an additional factor as well. For example, if the infield composes of grass and dirt various deflections of the ball can result due to the inconsistency of the material. Therefore, some infields are composed of field turf which is a carpet like material which is consistent throughout and reduces virtually all deflections. The deflections are determined by calculating the angle of attack it creates on the object and then taking the “give factor” of the object, the rotational component of the ball, and then determining the x and y components of the velocity of the ball one can use the conservation of momentum and the Rotational and Kinetic Energies formula in order to determine where the ball is going to bounce. However, an athlete does not have time to do many of these calculations on the fly, so he uses prior experience and athleticism to field the ball appropriately.