How does spin affect the trajectory of a tennis ball?
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How does spin affect the trajectory of a tennis ball?
Hitting a ball with topspin causes a Magnus force to act on the ball perpendicular to the velocity of the ball in the upward direction. Because there is an additional upward force on the ball, the ball seems to “float” through the air as it flies. This results in the lower bounce for the ball.
What are tennis ball machines used for?
Random oscillation is where the tennis ball machine replicates a match situation by shooting balls randomly around the court. Rather than groove a particular shot, this allows a player to focus on footwork, fitness and practice shots in a more realistic environment.
What forces act on a tennis ball during flight?
Thrust – momentum of the racquet pushing the ball forward. Gravity – the weight of the ball acts downward from the ball’s center of gravity. Drag – refers to the force, in this case – air resistance, acting in the opposite direction (flight direction) of the movement of an object.
What is the drag force of a tennis ball?
Then the drag force on a 66 mm diameter tennis ball is 0.93 Newtons. The force of gravity on a 57 g ball is 0.56 Newtons. The aerodynamic force is then 1.7 times larger than the gravitational force.
Why is spin important in tennis?
Ball spin is clearly one of the most important factors related to ball control in tennis. Putting the correct spin on the ball can increase a shot’s margin for error and affect the bounce of the ball. All tennis shots are made with some ball spin; even “flat” serves and groundstrokes have some spin.
Do tennis pros use ball machines?
The tennis pros don’t use ball machines most times because trainees aren’t able to focus and gain the required skills. The recognition skill is the ability to track the ball in flight by its basic properties (speed, spin, height, depth, and direction) to get the ball in their preferred strike zone for an accurate shot.
Can you use normal tennis balls in a ball machine?
So it only has its place in ball-machine use only. If you just want balls for practice/serve, use regular balls. If you don’t want them to go flat too soon, just get the yellow tennis ball saver cans to store them in.
What does spin mean in tennis?
Essentially you are just flipping your hand around either side of the tennis ball so when it lands it moves sharply one way or the other, giving your opponent another problem to deal with as they run in to meet it.
Does a spinning ball move faster?
In the right two images, the surface of the top of the ball is moving faster than 90 mph because the top of the ball is spinning in the forward direction. On the bottom of the ball, the opposite is true….
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What is meant by Magnus effect?
Magnus effect, generation of a sidewise force on a spinning cylindrical or spherical solid immersed in a fluid (liquid or gas) when there is relative motion between the spinning body and the fluid. Named after the German physicist and chemist H.G. See Bernoulli’s theorem; fluid mechanics.
Why do balls spin?
The ball will spin if the fingers drag up, down or across the back of the ball as it comes out of the hand, due to the tangential friction force between the ball and the fingers. However, Ex can be enhanced if the ball bounces off an elastic rather than a rigid surface, in which case the ball will spin faster.