Profs & Pints DC: The Physics of Baseball

Profs and Pints DC presents: “The Physics of Baseball,” with Scott Paulson, professor of physics and interdisciplinary liberal studies at James Madison University.

Profs and Pints is offering baseball fans an even bigger treat than Cracker Jack, an exploration of the physics underlying their beloved sport.

Professor Scott Paulson, who regularly teaches introductory physics classes that make the physics behind real-world phenomena accessible to all, will discuss the forces and phenomena that come into play in baseball during pitching, batting, and fielding. He’ll toss you basic physics concepts that help explain how baseball’s routine plays got to be that way, and he’ll explain what’s going on in some situations where the laws of physics seem to be violated by what’s happening on the field.

Ever wondered why curveballs curve or knuckleballs behave so strangely? You’ll learn how Newton’s laws and the Magnus force explain how pitchers get drastically different results…