Posted by: John (wellikj@yahoo.com) on Fri May 25 05:52:37 2007

In terms of generating the most force at impact between the ball and the bat does the mass of the bat or the velocity of the bat have a greater impact? In other words, holding other all parameters equal, will hitting a ball with a lighter bat at a greater velocity generate more/less/equal force than hitting a ball with a slightly heavier bat at a slighty lower velocity. In the Ken Burns series on baseball he quotes the Splendid Splinter as indicating that a lighter bat at an increased velocity will generate more force than the heavier/slower bat. Is there an established equation for this relation? Thanks for any help, I only took two semesters of physics about ten years ago.