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What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% speed of light?

45 pointsby moleculeover 6 years ago

5 comments

someguy111over 6 years ago
If the batter swings and is hit by a pitch its a dead ball and its a strike. If the pitch was in the strike zone then it would also be a dead ball and a strike. Otherwise If the ball hits the batter first it is a hit by pitch, if it hits the bat first its a strike. Lastly, If the batter hits the ball with one or two feet outside of the batters box he is out.
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pontifierover 6 years ago
I&#x27;m convinced this wouldn&#x27;t happen. At this speed, only direct collisions of nuclei would do anything. The ball would pass through the air and bat as if they weren&#x27;t there... and I don&#x27;t believe it would deposit an appreciable amount of energy at any particular place...<p>If you think I&#x27;m wrong, just think about how far high energy protons (cosmic rays) travel through our atmosphere before they lose their energy. Each atom of the baseball has a good probability of flying through the air for a substantial distance before interacting with anything at all.
eindiranover 6 years ago
A number of years ago I read an idea (I think it might have been in James S.A. Corey&#x27;s Babylon&#x27;s Ashes) that I find very compelling; any object becomes a weapon given sufficiently high velocity.
superpieover 6 years ago
Randall&#x27;s book &quot;What If?,&quot; which is a collection of these absurd hypotheticals, is for sale on Amazon for $3 right now. I&#x27;ve got it, it&#x27;s a fun read.<p>Edit: I should add that it&#x27;s the eBook.
craftinatorover 6 years ago
And this is why I read xkcd. I salute you Randall
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