Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-08-29
THERE'S A HORSE
 POWER BEHIND THE
 H0MERS BABE HITS
Scientist Analyzes Yankee Slugger's Power at Plate

far in the past two seasons anu sauite enough. if exerted behind one gigantic bat, to demolish SKY scraper. At least, so says physi- eist. Prof. A. l.. Hodges by name, Who anazyles Babes" achievements in scientific manner for the Cleve- land News-Leader. It is hard TOT science to reduce the matter Of home-runs to statistics and formulas, he admits, explaining:
 The speed which ball takes on immediately after it's collision with the bat is a little difficult to com pute because neither the bat nor the ball is perfectly elastic or perfectly non-elastic. To illustrate the diff eultv of such computation, let me explain what happens when perfectly elastie and perfectly non-elastic bodieA come into collision.
 If two inelastic bodies say, two pieces of lead of equal weight and going with equal speed, but in oppo- site directions, meet squarely in mid air. they will both stop and fall to the ground, all their energy of mos ton having been turned into heat. III, however, perfectly elastic bodies Of the same weight going with the < same velocity, but in opposite direc7 lions, meet in mid-air, they will bounce back with the same velocity they had originally. If one of these bodies has twice the velocity of the dtherA the latter will bounce back riith twice it's original velocity and lie former will bounce back only half n fast. All this applies to bodies Naving the same weight, Whenever 0ne If the colliding bodies is heavier Ahan the other, the velocity given to the latter body upon bouncing is normously increased.
 The but which Babe" Ruth yields Snd the ball which he hits are both A 1airly elastic; therefore, everything Sase being equal, the ball will be $ zdS9n farther the heavier the bat x md the faster the bat is moving as < II hits the ball. Also, as the weight ii Babe" Ruth's body prevents his $ Ut from doing much bouncing back, the faster the ball comes the farther
 
 < II will % when he hits it.
 The weight of the ball itself is a < yery important factor in hitting a 1onhe-ruh, viewed as scientific feGiem. If there were no atmos- # Hhefe, everything else being equal, X tke lighter the ball happened to be, the farther 1t would go. The friction IT the air, however, slow the ball 1p considerably, and this fact has r be taken into consideration with 1Ivsral others.
 The conclusion which science $ eaehes is that the heavier the ball \ without increasing it's size or de- < eteasing its elasticity, the farther it ge Aftef being struck with the
 The direction taken by batted lell is affected to some extent by the < xptation of the ball as it strikes the This factor is of the greatest f1Aportance when the bat does not atrike the ball squarely.
 It is possible for the bat to hit the A LII in such a way that it actually |s 1nereases the latter's rotation. In ther words, it is perfectlf possible 4or the batter to hit the ball in such . May that it takes on decided e0rxe. Everybody who plays golf knoWs Nhat common occurance this f6 on the links. A golf ball when sexuck accidentally off center will eten describe the widest imagina- 1Ie 1ath through the air, particularly II 1t passes through various air-cur- B 1nnts.
 home run depends to a very
 xxe extent upon the direction giv- the batted ball. The importance
 fhls factor may be estimated as
 nen times that of the speed given
 batted ball. By direction we ean not only the horizontal angle,
 also the vertical angle at which ne balI leaves the bat. For example, Re matter how hard the ball is hit,
 VIII never result in home-run un- It clears the upstretched arms tho players in the field.
 44 II plain that the direction given Ao hatted ball must depend to a 1ye extent upon the manner in Aieh the ball is travelling before it oets the bat. Provided the ball is xen proper rotation on it's hor- e1tal axis by the pitcher, the kind
 cprve best suited to make it diffi-
 to hit it at the proper vertical le is either the down-shoot or the
 sshoot On account of the many
 slahle factors concerned, science !le1es that any home-run made
 th etther of these curves is lucky
 qnre pure and simple.
 eer the ball has been set in mo- 6y the bat with a certain speed.
 digtance it will go depends upon
 xertical angle at which it starts. most desirable angle is one of
 -two degrees with the ground.
 30nt half right angle. Other Sk6xs which determine the distance
 tsed ball will travel are the speed
 he ball, it's sphericity, the ehness of it's surface, and it's
 ot rotation. The greater the
 of the ball, the more perfectly
 k1eel it is, the smoother it's sur-
 Ad the less rotation with which
 elp, thes farther it will po
 heric :tconditions, of course
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