The Physics of Swinging
My son begs to watch me swing on one of the swing sets at the park. I tell him that there is so much work involved and I don’t know if I have the energy to do all of the
many things it takes to make a swing move. It’s such an innocent plea, but complicated in the terms of the actual process of it. The physics of swinging has so many components. From resonance to force, and from the period of the swing to the conversion of energy, the process of swinging is actually a complicated matter.
While you watch a person swing, place your hand at the maximum point of the swing’s achieved height and then count how many seconds it takes to return back to that same height. You have just measured the period of the swing. The period of the swing is the time it takes the swing to make one full move back and forth. The equation used to solve for the period mathematically is T = 2p (square root of L/g), where L is the length of the pendulum, and g is gravity. There are a few things that can change the period of a pendulum. As length increases and as the force of gravity increases so will the period. Likewise, when both gravity and length of the chains decrease, the period does also. My reference Mark Nethercott says that if there are no outside influences, the period stays constant at about 15 degrees of arch, but the amplitude must be low. This statement corresponds with Newton’s first law of motion (law of inertia) that says, “Every object remains at rest or in motion in a straight line at constant speed unless acted on by an unbalanced force.” (Physics, A World View p.31).
A force other than gravity and the length of the swing can alter the outcome of a period. While standing with your hand out, measuring the period, give the person on the swing a push.
“Periodic motion is motion that repeats itself at regular intervals of time and resonance is periodic increases of the amplitude of periodic motion due to a force
at a constant interval. So while you push the person on the swing, you are creating a form of resonance for the swing.” –Mark Nethercott.
There is one last force that changes the period of a swing, and that is squatting and standing, or leaning back and forth.
The Great Depression tested America’s political organizations like no other event in United States’ history except the Civil War. The most famous explanations of the period are friendly to Roosevelt and the New Deal and very critical of the Republican presidents of the 1920’s, bankers, and businessmen, whom they blame for the collapse. However, Amity Shlaes in her book, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, contests the received wisdom that the Great Depression occurred because capitalism failed, and that it ended because of Roosevelt’s New Deal. Shlaes, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a syndicated financial columnist, argues that government action between 1929 and 1940 unnecessarily deepened and extended the Great Depression.
...hrough immense poverty, segregation, and was undervalued by his peers. Jesse Owens was ridiculed by many in the Nazi party during the 1936 Olympics but he ignored their hateful looks and instead saw himself as an athlete and not an icon of the inferiority of his race and he was able to prove them wrong with outstanding track and field accomplishments. He is an inspirational symbol for the injustice of racial profiling and is a role model to athletes everywhere.
Over the past fifteen to twenty years women's fastpitch softball popularity has continued to grow and spread internationally. By the mid-1990s it was played in more than 85 countries under the eye of the International Softball Federation (ISF). It has become increasingly popular among women at the youth and collegiate levels. More than 630 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member institutions sponsor women's softball programs, and national championships for women are held in all three NCAA sports divisions (Encarta, 1998). In 1991 women's fastpitch softball was selected to debut as a medal sport in the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Columbia, Georgia. The U.S. won the gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games due to a good defense and great hitters on the team. Even though defense and pitching are critical and vital parts of the game, a successful team must have an effective offense to win the game. Among all the standout hitters on the U.S. Olympic team, two of the best are Dot Richardson and Lisa Fernadez. Both Lisa and Dot have picture-perfect swings, which have made them very productive throughout their careers. Today there is a women's professional fastpitch softball league. Interest in the Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL) has been increasing for the last three years and continues to grow each year.
Baseball is a fascinating sport that is exceptionally fun to play. This assignment is all about understanding the physics of a few key aspects of this sport. One might ask what physics could have to do with baseball? Like most sports baseball involves physical motion. Baseball encompasses all three planes of motion through throwing, hitting, and fielding. All of the classical laws of mechanics can be applied to understand the physics of this game.
A baseball pitcher throws a baseball across the plate and the batter hits it to center field, and elderly man pitches horseshoes, a young person spikes a volleyball, student practices driving a golf ball while a college athlete practices punting a football. Once more, as is the case with pushing and pulling, a widely diverse set of activities has a common denominator. Each of these activities involves sequential movement of the body segments resulting in the production of a summated velocity at the end of the chain of segments used. The path produced by the end point of this chain of segments is curvilinear in nature. Sequential segmental motions are most frequently used to produce high velocities in external objects. Depending on the objective of the skill, speed, accuracy, distance, or some combination, modifications in the sequential pattern may be involved, larger or smaller ranges of motion might be used, and longer of shorter lever lengths may be chosen. Regardless of the modifications, the basic nature of the sequential throwing, striking or kicking pattern remains the same.
Can you imagine embarrassing the infamous Adolf Hitler in front of the whole world? Jesse Owens did that in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was not an easy road for him to get there, but he did it by putting enough effort and hard work forward. Jesse Owens was able to overcome racial judgment by surviving a poverty struck childhood, training hard in school, and by winning the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Jesse Owens, also known as “The Buckeye Bullet,” was known for being one of the greatest track and field, African American runners in the 20th century. Jesse was sick a lot when he was a child, but he still had to work to help his family. When Jesse was 9 years old, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio and found out there was a difference between how he was being treated in Ohio and how he was treated where he lived down south. Jesse attended the Ohio State University and went on to break many
As a son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, Jesse Owens created History in 1936 when he achieved what no athlete had done before: four Olympic Gold Medals. (jesseowens.com). During this era, the United States had limited civil rights and was approaching a World War with Hitler rising into power in Germany. Although Owens was victorious on the track, because of the color of his skin, He was looked down upon and unrecognized by even his own country. Through the excessive racism, one may ask how Owens moved forward and dealt with such negativity in a situation that should have been celebrated.
Lennon once stated, “One thing you can’t hide is when you are crippled inside”−America presents itself as the hero of the world; however, when one looks closely they can see the crippled, black heart at her core. Racism was highlighted throughout the cold, hearted nation. According to the Ebony Magazine, the 1936 Olympics “would become a legend and would be passed on from generation to generation, growing and telling, the story of a sharecropper’s son and the grandson of slaves.” (“Jesse Owens” DISC Multicultural 1)
The New Deal, established by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, was a series of programs put into affect to fix the Great Depression that the United States was currently in. Beginning with the crash of the stock market on October 29, 1929, America was plunged into its most severe economic downturn yet. Roosevelt developed this plan to save the country. At this time the people of America were in a huge economic unrest. Most in America were homeless or unemployed. Roosevelt created his programs to help these exact people from poverty. He assured the people of America that his programs would help the crumbling economy, mass unemployment, and low wages. This chain of programs raised both nationalism and national character throughout America for a few years. The author of this excerpt had a very negative view of FDR’s work and critiqued every program within the New Deal. Roosevelt’s programs have many long-term consequences, some of which are still in effect today. Most of the programs still in action were modified in the 1960’s, these are the present day welfare programs that most people are accustomed to. While the New Deal was not entirely successful, Franklin D. Roosevelt did the best he could with the time and circumstances given.
McElvaine, Robert S. The Depression and New Deal: A History in Documents. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
Developing my swing is the first step I use in preparing for the upcoming season. There are a few different techniques I use to work on my swing. The first way is to take hitting lessons. I learn much of my knowledge about hitting from taking hitting lessons. My usual routine consists of taking lessons three times a week. This allows me to be evaluated by a professional. I took hitting lessons from the same coach for five straight years. His teachings have helped me become a much better hitter. Another way I develop my swing is by practicing daily. Even though I take hitting lessons, I still need more work. I am lucky enough to have access to a facility that has hitting cages. This allows me to work in the winter and during inclimate weather. By going to work on my swing on my own, I am able to work on the skills that my hitting instructor has taught me. This seems like it would take a long time, but it does not. I carefully plan out my time, and this allows me to use my time wisely. I allot times to work different aspects of my swing. By doing this, I am able to cover all aspects of my swing. I also videotape my swing, and this allows me to view myself afterwards. Since I videotape my practice sessions, I can go over my sessions afterwards. I have caught and fixed many mistakes my carefully watching my swing on the recordings. Developing my swing is the first of three main steps I use in preparing for the upcoming season.
There is really only one traditional swing in golf. This is a fluid take back followed by a controlled rip at the ball. In frisbee golf you have many choices of how you want to throw the frisbee, it comes down to a matter of how it needs to fly and what you feel most comfortable with.
...e cues to the learner. The most critical element of this whole learning experience comes down to practice. If I set up an environment that encourages mental and physical repetition the building blocks for practice have been set. To finsh this metaphorical house I will give the students cues that will help them develop their swing. As the students are practicing I must provide feedback that is helpful to them to help them become the best batter they can be. With the right coach and baseball player can succeed and I think Crash Davis from Bull Durham said it best “This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains”.