The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1914-02-20
Perfect SPHERES
With All His Scientific Skill Man
Cannot Produce Them.
THE CURvING OF A BASEBALL.


an imperfect Globe and In Compare.
son With It's Size Much RouoheI
Than the Surface Of the Earth.
The real reason why q baseball car
he thrown SO that it will describe won
derfnl curves during its progress
through the mir is that every such ball
has II surface made up Of mountains
valleys. craters. canyons, gorges. plains
and other Irregularities of the surface
that. when the difference in size Ia
taken into consideration. makes the
surface Ut the earth seem like plate
glnss.
lf It We're possible to make q perfect
sphere-if 1t were possible to make q
baseball with an absolutely smooth sur
face and un exact sphere-no pitcher
IN the world could make 1t curve. The
very best pitchers baseball has ever
known or probably ever will know
could not make the ball deviate hairs
breadth In it's flight.
And so while It Is partly in the art
or knack the professional pitcher has
In holding and releasing the baseball
ns he throws 1t. 1t is also due to the
fnct thntn baseball has a wonderfully
rough surface against which the air
catches and turns 1t that gives 1t the
curve.
1t you pass your hand over a plate
glass II moves smoothly with nothing
to retard 1t. II you pass your hand
over an unplaned board you can feel
the neutrality-suspicious. we call them.
fon cannot move your hand as easily
over the board This is the same prin-
"iple with the baseball. There Is a
ronghness in Its surface that catches
IN the mir and forces one side about or
rrtnrtls that side. This has but one
restilt--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 cleverneiss of the pitcher who
can 80 accurately Judge his muscular
control az to make baseball curve ND
or down. right or left. But the fact
remains that 1t is the roughness Of the
baseball that makes all his pitching
clevcrness possible.
Take 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
erfni microscors.A enlarge It MICROSCOPE
cally 10000 dlhmeters, and what do
you seef The very thing mentioned in
the first PARAGRAPH Of this article. The
surface IN rough. It looks like the
landscape in thu Alps or Yellowstone
I'ark or any 9th sr rough section Of the
earth. 1t has peaks. ranges. ridges.
valleys. plains i,nd holes, gulches and
MI sorts OF unsi ven places. and II the
enrth could bti made as small rs a
baseball 1t wo, I'd be practically a per-
rect sphere nd absolutely smooth
mis- Is becaus,. the highest mountains
u the earth md the deepest valleys
you'd be mil li0,as upon millions Of
INES smaller In comparison with the
ough uneven pl aces on a baseball IL
'ither the earth were reduced to the
ize OF basebaJ / or a baseball enlarg.
q I" the size Of the earth.
u this were Mt true the earth would
Ut revolve 30 regularly upon its axis.
would pert hrm an 'in shoot" or
"ut shoot bn6 curve or through
ace. |
Even the b. f1iard ball has a surface
'nch roushei.. In comparison to its size
'hl' the sur "a ce Of the earth. and we
FER to bill inrd ball as about the
'"othest thin = known. LAS smooth
hilli'lr'l ba II" Is well known |
hilie M,r tho same reason that a
'rIectiy smooth baseball could not be
rived. II per-fec tly smooth and per-
city round bill ard ball. could not be
ade to curve on the table. 1t would
y take English" as billiard players
1t when they make a ball go for
ard and then roll backward or in any
just by The manner In which
hey strike 1t with a chalked cue
This fact of rOughness causing It to
pin becomes aL too evident when a
4
layer forgets to chalk his cue and
hays several shots thereafter. II the
,ather tip OF the cue becomes shiny
will slip on the bah. There is no
nrchase with which 1t can take hold.
INT chalk Is sticky stun. and the gran
les are large 50 that a well chalked
ne has a very rough surface, and this
ough surface Of the tip OF the cue fits
nto the rough projections on the ball.
nd thereby ball can be given a lot
{ twist. In order to accomplish this
nccessfully. moreover. the billiard
10th nap must be new and therefore
ough.
During recent experimentation with
rgard to the kinedc theory Of eases
Belgian scientist desired to find out
ow perfect sphere could be made in
rider that by the clashing Of these to-
ether an idea might be secured of the
n"rt OF the collisions of the spherical
toms that make up gas. The prof.
It had to be abandoned at last be-
h''se no machinery could be construct
Il that would turn out a perfect
'here artiicially. and nature has no