TITLE:
Impact of the Drag Force and the Magnus Effect on the Trajectory of a Baseball
AUTHORS:
Haiduke Sarafian
KEYWORDS:
Drag Force, Magnus Effect, Spinning Ball, Baseball, Nonlinear Physics, Mathematica
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Mechanics,
Vol.5 No.4,
April
14,
2015
ABSTRACT: We consider the impact of drag force and the Magnus effect on the motion
of a baseball. Quantitatively we show how the speed-dependent drag coefficient
alters the trajectory of the ball. For the Magnus effect we envision a scenario
where the rotation of the ball confines the Magnus force to the vertical plane;
gravity, drag force and the Magnus force make a trio-planar system. We
investigate the interplay of these forces on the trajectories.