An Unbelievable Throw?

[Justme]

SAump

The Magnus force has been proven in wind tunnels.

BUT

As stated in the article you provided:

"A fastball delivered with an overhand arm motion produces backspin. That is, the balls top surfaces spins back toward the pitcher, and the bottom spins forward. The Magnus force will “lift” such a pitch. More accurately it decreases the distance the ball falls due to gravity."

As I'm sure you know, even an airplane, which has lifting surfaces (wings) that are designed to provide maximum lift will not lift the airplane if the volume of air passing underneath the lifting surfaces is not adequate.

In your calculation you must consider:

1. The shape of the ball (Calculate the surface area of the ball which can provide lift).
2. The weight of the ball.
3. The volume of air that would be required to pass under the lifting surfaces of the ball in order to provide positive lift.
4. The speed a human would have to throw the ball in order to acheive the required volume of air passing underneath the lifting surfaces for the ball to rise (this would have to take into account the density of the air where the pitch occurred).

There is no indication in the data provided (the publication you referenced) that indicates that a MLB player throwing a baseball can achieve the required airflow, in fact, it indicates that a ball thrown by a MLB pitcher does not provide adequate airflow under the ball's lifting surfaces to provide positive lift.

Bottom line....the ball does not rise...it merely does not drop as fast as other types of pitches. Sorry!