6 ms·

Superman vs. Baseball

48 points by Red_Tarsius 12y ago

bbcbasic 12y ago
And if you enjoyed that, you will enjoy this https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/
tomasien 12y ago
Waiting for Superman is not written by Iron and Wine, it's written by the Flaming Lips and is from one of the greatest albums of all time - "The Soft Bulletin". I correct this not because I like correcting things but because any opportunity to introduce people to TSB is one worth taking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitin%27_for_a_Superman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitin%27_for_a_Superman
ericdykstra 12y ago
In the same vein: "Bugs Bunny, greatest banned player ever" http://www.ussmariner.com/2006/03/12/bugs-bunny-greatest-banned-player-ever/ http://www.ussmariner.com/2006/03/12/bugs-bunny-greatest-ban...
- Retra 12y ago
  My favorite part: >Even if we consider that this demonstration is the only time this happens, it still raises other questions: 1. How is this possible? It is an excellent question.
thret 12y ago
Related: A Unified Theory of Superman's Powers http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/superman.pdf http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/superman.pdf How does Spider-Man Move So Fast? http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/spiderman.pdf http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/spiderman.pdf
- lifeisstillgood 12y ago
  I would recommend to you also the funniest book ever published, "How to be a Superhero", which discusses many of the downsides of super senses, such as super hearing.
fsk 12y ago
Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex: http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html
- spdustin 12y ago
  I just came on to comment that. Larry Niven was a favorite of mine. Another great short story of his: Inconstant Moon (turned into an Outer Limits episode) about a man who notices the moon is /unnaturally/ bright one night, and comes to the only rational conclusion: something has happened to the sun...
  - ableal 12y ago
    Larry Niven himself was somewhat like an imagination burst in the SF field, back in the 1970s. There was all this gloomy, word perfect "new wave" prose mopping up the critical praise, and there was Niven pitching hard SF idea balls. Flash crowds, tides around neutron stars, Bussard ramjets, organ transplants gone wild, direct brain stimulation as a drug, ring worlds ...
callmeed 12y ago
Fun post. Only nit-pick is that a majority (70%) of MLB hitters use maple bats now, not ash. I know maple is a harder wood but I'm curious to know if it can handle more than the 15,000 lbs of force ash can. Also, the home run tracker is a really cool site if you like stuff along these lines: http://www.hittrackeronline.com/ http://www.hittrackeronline.com/
ansible 12y ago
The article is drastically underestimating how far Superman can hit a baseball. The trick is to not swing the bat like a human. Instead, Superman should hold the bat orthogonal to the pitcher and have the ball make contact with the bat as soon as possible. Then, using his skill and reflexes, he can gradually decelerate the ball towards the back arc of his modified swing. All the while holding the bat orthogonal to the pitcher. He is essentially catching the ball with the bat, which you can with super speed and reflexes. He then will "swing" the bat forward, now smoothly imparting the maximum force both the ball and bat can deliver. Still keeping it orthogonal to the pitcher. Basically, because the contact time is longer, more delta-v can be applied to the ball. With a smooth enough increase in the loading, it may be possible to exceed the conventional burst strength of the baseball.
- dTal 12y ago
  Wouldn't that kill the pitcher?
  - ansible 12y ago
    Superman would still aim up at a slight angle to maximize the distance. Also, I'm sure he'd avoid intentionally hitting anyone in the park (or outside, checking with his x-ray vision).
nikbackm 12y ago
I wonder how far Superman could throw a baseball instead under the same restrictions. Should be a fair bit longer I guess.

48 points by Red_Tarsius 12y ago

And if you enjoyed that, you will enjoy this https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/

Waiting for Superman is not written by Iron and Wine, it's written by the Flaming Lips and is from one of the greatest albums of all time - "The Soft Bulletin". I correct this not because I like correcting things but because any opportunity to introduce people to TSB is one worth taking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitin%27_for_a_Superman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitin%27_for_a_Superman

ericdykstra 12y ago

In the same vein: "Bugs Bunny, greatest banned player ever" http://www.ussmariner.com/2006/03/12/bugs-bunny-greatest-banned-player-ever/ http://www.ussmariner.com/2006/03/12/bugs-bunny-greatest-ban...

Retra 12y ago
My favorite part: >Even if we consider that this demonstration is the only time this happens, it still raises other questions: 1. How is this possible? It is an excellent question.

thret 12y ago

Related: A Unified Theory of Superman's Powers http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/superman.pdf http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/superman.pdf How does Spider-Man Move So Fast? http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/spiderman.pdf http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/spiderman.pdf

lifeisstillgood 12y ago
I would recommend to you also the funniest book ever published, "How to be a Superhero", which discusses many of the downsides of super senses, such as super hearing.

fsk 12y ago

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex: http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html

spdustin 12y ago
I just came on to comment that. Larry Niven was a favorite of mine. Another great short story of his: Inconstant Moon (turned into an Outer Limits episode) about a man who notices the moon is /unnaturally/ bright one night, and comes to the only rational conclusion: something has happened to the sun...
- ableal 12y ago
  Larry Niven himself was somewhat like an imagination burst in the SF field, back in the 1970s. There was all this gloomy, word perfect "new wave" prose mopping up the critical praise, and there was Niven pitching hard SF idea balls. Flash crowds, tides around neutron stars, Bussard ramjets, organ transplants gone wild, direct brain stimulation as a drug, ring worlds ...

callmeed 12y ago

Fun post. Only nit-pick is that a majority (70%) of MLB hitters use maple bats now, not ash. I know maple is a harder wood but I'm curious to know if it can handle more than the 15,000 lbs of force ash can. Also, the home run tracker is a really cool site if you like stuff along these lines: http://www.hittrackeronline.com/ http://www.hittrackeronline.com/

ansible 12y ago

The article is drastically underestimating how far Superman can hit a baseball. The trick is to not swing the bat like a human. Instead, Superman should hold the bat orthogonal to the pitcher and have the ball make contact with the bat as soon as possible. Then, using his skill and reflexes, he can gradually decelerate the ball towards the back arc of his modified swing. All the while holding the bat orthogonal to the pitcher. He is essentially catching the ball with the bat, which you can with super speed and reflexes. He then will "swing" the bat forward, now smoothly imparting the maximum force both the ball and bat can deliver. Still keeping it orthogonal to the pitcher. Basically, because the contact time is longer, more delta-v can be applied to the ball. With a smooth enough increase in the loading, it may be possible to exceed the conventional burst strength of the baseball.

dTal 12y ago
Wouldn't that kill the pitcher?
- ansible 12y ago
  Superman would still aim up at a slight angle to maximize the distance. Also, I'm sure he'd avoid intentionally hitting anyone in the park (or outside, checking with his x-ray vision).

nikbackm 12y ago

I wonder how far Superman could throw a baseball instead under the same restrictions. Should be a fair bit longer I guess.