‘Hitters heaven’ no more
Why do baseballs fly farther in Denver than in Detroit? The “hitters’ heaven” in Coors Field is blessed with relatively thin air, which allows fly balls to travel up to 20 feet farther than they would at sea level.
Inquiring minds, in high school and beyond, might want to understand why. They might also wonder why the conditions in Denver got less heavenly in recent years.
John Bohn, an associate research professor in physics and fellow of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, has answers. In March, he outlined the “Physics of baseball at Mile High” as part of CU’s Saturday Physics Series, an outreach program during which adults and high-schoolers get an introductory look at physics.
With the help of CU doctoral candidate Ed Meyer, who did calculations, Bohn discussed the aerodynamics of the game. Denver’s air is 20-percent less dense than that of sea level, which means batted balls go significantly farther and curve balls curve significantly less.
To counteract this effect, the Colorado Rockies now store baseballs in humidors. Humidified balls are denser and slightly larger. By Meyer’s and Bohn’s calculations, the Rockies have reduced the distance traveled by fly balls by 3 to 4 feet.
Because many home runs go just over the fence, decreasing the distance of fly balls by 4 feet could cause a 20-percent reduction in home runs per game. Selected illustrations from Bohn’s presentation, shown here, emphasize their findings.
In the November edition of the American Journal of Physics, Meyer and Bohn published their findings in an article titled "Influence of a humidor on the aerodynamics of baseballs."
Inquiring minds, in high school and beyond, might want to understand why. They might also wonder why the conditions in Denver got less heavenly in recent years.
John Bohn, an associate research professor in physics and fellow of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, has answers. In March, he outlined the “Physics of baseball at Mile High” as part of CU’s Saturday Physics Series, an outreach program during which adults and high-schoolers get an introductory look at physics.
With the help of CU doctoral candidate Ed Meyer, who did calculations, Bohn discussed the aerodynamics of the game. Denver’s air is 20-percent less dense than that of sea level, which means batted balls go significantly farther and curve balls curve significantly less.
To counteract this effect, the Colorado Rockies now store baseballs in humidors. Humidified balls are denser and slightly larger. By Meyer’s and Bohn’s calculations, the Rockies have reduced the distance traveled by fly balls by 3 to 4 feet.
Because many home runs go just over the fence, decreasing the distance of fly balls by 4 feet could cause a 20-percent reduction in home runs per game. Selected illustrations from Bohn’s presentation, shown here, emphasize their findings.
In the November edition of the American Journal of Physics, Meyer and Bohn published their findings in an article titled "Influence of a humidor on the aerodynamics of baseballs."