The Physics of Baseball
The summer may be coming to an end but baseball season is still going strong – thanks to physics! This month we’re featuring a selection of photographs from our collection that portray physicists partaking in America’s favorite pastime as both participants and educators. Interested in learning more? Pick up a copy of Robert K Adair’s The Physics of Baseball .
Robert K. Adair lectures to an audience at the Physics of Baseball Colloquium, held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
Hideki Yukawa prepares to swing while up at bat. c. 1955 - 1957.
AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Yukawa Collection
Alan Nathan demonstrates the physics behind the sweet spot theory at the Physics of Baseball Alumni Talk at Wrigley Field in Chicago. June 1997.
Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archive
What baseball game is complete without enjoying a good old fashioned hot dog? Isidor Rabi knows that the secret to cooking the perfect hot dog is the cyclotron!
Photograph by Fritz Goro, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
And it’s outta here! A young Horace Crane starts his run to first base after hitting a pitch at an informal baseball game at a Michigan symposium. c. 1930.
AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
Sid Dancoff swings at a pitch, while Sid Drell (standing and leaning against the fence) and Arnold Nordsieck (on other side of fence) look on at a University of Illinois Physics Department picnic. 1947.
AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
