Category Archives: Adair, Dr. Robert K.

The Physics of Baseball: Prof. Adair explains the Rockies Win Streak

By BarryBruner | Published: October 24, 2007
The baseball postseason is the most exciting time to be a fan of our great national pastime. Every pitch and every swing of the bat can potentially bring glory or ruin to an entire team of hard working ballplayers, to say nothing of the cardiac damage done to the hearts of the millions of fans [...]
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The Physics of Baseball: Newton’s Laws Speak Out (a commentary)

By BarryBruner | Published: March 13, 2007
We can take solace in the utter predictably of certain principles in the cache of physics: Newton’s 2nd law, Fermat’s Principle of Least Time, and the BEC-BCS Crossover (if you recognize the first two but thought the third was related to the ranking of national college football teams, please head quietly to the back of [...]
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Fact or Fiction: Mid-May Roundup

By BarryBruner | Published: May 14, 2006
For this installment of “Fact or Fiction”, Yard Work is pleased to bring you two of its long-standing contributors — professional Red Sox fan Bill Simmons and resident science scholar Dr. Robert K. Adair. Let’s get to the questions! 1. Albert Pujols is the best hitter any of us will ever see. Adair: FICTION. The [...]
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The Physics of Baseball 4: What a Tangled Web We Weave (Behind Home Plate)

By BarryBruner | Published: August 12, 2005
The great Danish physicist Niels Bohr once said: “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet”. Clearly, Bohr was never a dedicated fan of the game of baseball, for if he had been, he would have been impelled to revise his statement. While engaging in my nightly ritual of concertedly flipping [...]
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The Physics of Baseball 3: “Throwing Strikes and Breaking Bones”

By BarryBruner | Published: June 29, 2005
I recently returned from a conference in Europe, where all of the continent is busily anticipating this year’s installment of the Tour de France. It is not only the world’s most physically demanding race, but is also the finest and most elegant example of raw physics at work in modern sport. The bicycle — the [...]
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The Physics of Baseball 2: “The Seven Per Cent Knuckleball”

By BarryBruner | Published: June 16, 2005
Last weekend, I found myself in Chicago with a free Sunday evening. (I had been presenting at the AAPT conference, and moderating a panel discussion at the University of Chicago in charming Hyde Park.) So, as is often my wont, I wended my way up to Wrigley Field to see the Chicago Cubbies play against [...]
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The Physics of Baseball 1: “The Curious Case of Damon’s Mane.”

By Matt Cibula | Published: June 3, 2005
Johnny Damon recently suffered a minor injury, which was close to being a major one, by running into Fenway Park’s infamous center-field “Triangle” in pursuit of a fly ball off the bat of Jay Gibbons. (Of course, this trapezoidal area is nowhere near being an actual triangle, but no matter, we move on.) The sports [...]
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