[Emeriti-faculty] Baseball Colloquium today at 4:30

[Gayle Grant <gayle grant tufts edu>]

Hi Faculty, Students, and Staff:

REMINDER:

Please attend our Special Physics Department Colloquium

Today, Wednesday, September 16, 2009
4:30 pm, Robinson 253

Physics and Baseball:
An Intersection of Passions

Professor Alan Nathan
University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign

I have been a physicist for all my professional life.  I have been a 
baseball fan even longer.  And in recent years, I have figured out that 
I can do both physics and baseball at the same time.  It is truly like 
having your cake and eating it too.

In this talk, I will tell some of the ways that a physicist analyzes the 
game of baseball.  In the course of doing so, I will address some 
interesting and practical questions from a physics perspective, such as: 
How does a baseball bat work?  Why do aluminum bats outperform wood 
bats?  Does corking the bat help?  How much did that curve ball break? 
How do ball parks differ in the "carry" of a fly ball?  Why are towering 
popups difficult to catch?  What characteristics of a batted ball lead 
to a safe hit?   My goal is that all will enjoy this talk, whether your 
interest is physics, baseball, or the intersection between them.

Refreshment served in Robinson 251, Knipp Library at 4:00 pm