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  • On Mars, Curveballs become Screwballs

    02/22/2003 8:12:56 PM PST · by Black Powder · 3 replies · 120+ views
    Space.com ^ | 21 February 2003 | Robert Roy Britt
    If a baseball team traveled to Mars for an interplanetary away game, shortstops and second basemen would become instant sluggers, benefiting from the reduced gravity and thinner air. And according to a new study, pitchers might find their curveballs behaving like screwballs. The reverse behavior would owe to Mars' practically nonexistent atmosphere and the complex "fluid dynamics" that make a spinning ball curve. Finally, to the delight of the hitters, tricky pitches on Mars would not be nearly as lively as here on Earth. Worlds apart In rarefied air, with molecules far apart, a whirling object can actually drift in...