Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1914-01-08
SPHERES |
With All His Scientific Skill Man
Cannot Produce Them.
THE CURvING OF A BASEBALL.
II 10 Possible Only Because the Ball Is
an Imperfect Globe and In Compare
son With Its Size Much Rougher
Than the Surface of the Earth.

The real reason why baseball can
be thrown so that 1t will describe won
derful curves during its progress
through the air is that every such ball
has a surface made up of mountains,
valleys, craters, canyons, gorges. plains
and other Irregularities of the surface
that. when the difference in size is
taken into consideration, makes the
surface of the earth seem like plate
glass.
If 1t were possible to make a perfect
sphere-if II were possible to make
baseball with an absolutely smooth sur
face and an exact sphere-no pitcher
In the world could make it curve. The
very best pitchers baseball has ever.
known or probably ever will know
could not make the ball Geviate hairs
breadth in its flight.
| And so while 1t is partly In the art
or knack the professional pitcher has
IN holding and releasing the baseball
rs be throws 1t. 1t is also due to the
fact that baseball has wonderfully
rough surface against which the all
catches and turns 1t that gives 1t the
curve.
1t you pass your hand over a plate
glass 1t moves smoothly with nothing
to retard it. If you pass your hand
over an unplaned board you can feel
the roughness- splinters we call them
You cannot move your hand us easily
over the board This Is the same plin
ciple with the baseball. There Is
roughness In its surface that cntches
In the air and forces one side about or
rctards that side. This has but one
rcsult-to make the baseball leave its
straight course and in doing this 1t de
scribes curve.
This does not detract in the least
from the cleverness of the pitcher who
can so accurately judge bis muscular
control as to make baseball curve up
or down. right or left. But the fact
remains that it is the roughness of the
baseball that makes all his pitching
rleverness possible.
Take a brand new league ball in
your hand 1t looks to be a perfect
sphere-that is. absolutely even and
uniformly round and as smooth as |
glass" And 1t may be as smooth as
glass. for glass also has a rough sur
face
Put baseball under the most pow |
erfu microscope, enlarge 1t MICROSCOPE |
rally 10000 diameters, and what dc |
you see? The very thing mentioned In
the first paragraph of this article. The
surface is rough. 1t looks like the
park or any other rough section Of the
earth. 1t has peaks. ranges, ridges,
plains and holes, gulches and
all sorts Of uneven places, and If the |
earth could be made as small as a
baseball it would be practically a per
feet sphere and absolutely smooth.
This is because the highest mountains
Of the earth and the deepest valleys
would be millions upon millions of
lines smaller In comparison with the
'ough uneven places on baseball If
either the earth were reduced to the
ize of baseball or baseball enlarg-
d to the size of the earth
III IUlS were DOL TRUE LIE tdElu WOuiu |
lot revolve so regularly upon its axis
t would perform an Sin shoot" or
out shoot" and curve off through
pace.
Even the billiard ball has a surface
luch rougher in comparison to Its size c
han the surface of the earth, and we
efer to a billiard ball as about the /
thing known. "As smooth c
s q billiard BALI is well known
lmile. For the same reason that a :
erfectly smooth baseball could not be
urved. a perfectly smooth and per-
ectly round billiard ball could not be I
lade to curve on the table. 1t would
OF take English" as billiard players
nlI II when they make a ball go for
ard and then roll backward or In any 4
ERECTION just by the manner in which
ley strike It with chalked cue.
This fact of roughness causing 1t to
lin becomes all too evident when a
avs several shots thereafter. If the
ather tip of the cue becomes shiny IL
will slip on the ball There Is no W
irchase with which 1t can take hold Fla
ut chalk is sticky stuff, and the gran Gu
rs are large. so that a well chalked al
e has very rough surface, and this an
ugh surface of the tip Of the cue fits >
to the rough projections on the ball ~
ID thereby ball can be given a LOT
twist. In order to accomplish this g.,
ccessfully. moreover. the billiard =,
9TH nap must be new and therefore ~
ugh. LII
During recent experimentation with be
gard to the kinetic theory of gases of
Belgian scientist desired to find out va
W perfect a sphere could be made In ty
der that by the clashing of these to pa
Their an Idea might be secured Of the
ect Of the collisions of the spherical
,ms that make up a gas. The prof. sci
had to be abandoned at last be- ~,
Use no machinery could be construct. -,
that would turn out perfect 'Ai'
a-kf Act axxl kx,r L.,