Bounce of a spinning ball near normal incidence
Abstract
A spinning ball incident at right angles to a surface bounces at an oblique angle and with reduced spin. Consequently, a spinning ball struck head-on does not rebound along its incident path, which presents a control problem in bat and racquet sports. The rebound angle and spin depend in a nontrivial manner on the coefficient of friction between the ball and the surface and on the elastic properties of the ball and the surface. Values of the normal and tangential coefficients of restitution coefficients are presented for a tennis ball impacting a smooth and a rough surface and on strings of a tennis racquet. The implications for spin generation in tennis are briefly described.
- Publication:
-
American Journal of Physics
- Pub Date:
- October 2005
- DOI:
- 10.1119/1.2008299
- Bibcode:
- 2005AmJPh..73..914C
- Keywords:
-
- 01.50.-i;
- 46.55.+d;
- 45.40.-f;
- 01.80.+b;
- Educational aids;
- Tribology and mechanical contacts;
- Dynamics and kinematics of rigid bodies;
- Physics of games and sports