Trying to Catch a 1,000 MPH Baseball - Smarter Every Day 247

TL;DR

A 1,000 MPH baseball cannot be caught by ordinary baseball gloves: the Mach 1.35 shot pierced both basket-weave and H-weave gloves and even passed through nine stacked gloves. Destin and the Smarter Every Day team verify the cannon with schlieren imagery and a stick test, then use slow motion to examine impacts on a boxing target and gloves. Read on to see how each test revealed the ball’s destructive effects.

Transcript

• Hey, it's me Destin. Welcome back to "Smarter Every Day." This video is awesome because we're finally going to shoot it at stuff. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, in a previous episode of "Smarter Every Day," we fulfilled an important dream of mine by building a baseball cannon that could shoot a baseball faster than the speed of sou... Read More

Key Insights

• 🐎 Building a supersonic baseball cannon successfully and verifying its speed is a significant achievement.
• ✊ The power and kinetic energy of a supersonic baseball are enormous and can cause serious damage to objects.
• ⚾ Regular baseball gloves are not designed to withstand the impact of a supersonic baseball.

Questions & Answers

Q: Can a baseball glove catch a 1,000 MPH baseball?

No. The supersonic baseball passed through both basket-weave and H-weave gloves, and the basket-weave glove caught fire upon impact. Even nine stacked gloves failed to stop the ball.

Q: How fast was the Smarter Every Day supersonic baseball?

The measured shot reached Mach 1.35, making the baseball faster than the speed of sound. Destin described the cannon as verified after the team checked its speed.

Q: How did Smarter Every Day verify that the baseball was supersonic?

The team used a special high-speed camera setup to capture schlieren imagery showing a Mach cone and the pressure wave ahead of the baseball. They also performed a stick test to confirm their calculations and measured the shot at Mach 1.35.

Q: What happened when the supersonic baseball hit the boxing target Bob?

The baseball went through Bob and struck the steel backdrop before coming back. The impact also ripped the cover off the deformed baseball, while slow-motion footage showed a wave moving through the target’s chest.

Q: Did a thick catcher’s mitt protect the boxing target?

No. The baseball punched a hole through the thick catcher’s mitt and appeared not to slow down. The glove therefore did not stop the ball or provide the intended protection for Bob.

Q: How many stacked gloves stopped the supersonic baseball?

Nine stacked gloves did not stop it. The baseball passed through all nine, showing that even multiple gloves were insufficient for the shot.

Q: Why did the team place the gloves in front of a boxing target?

They wanted to establish what might happen if a person put their body behind the ball while attempting a catch. The tests examined whether a glove could survive, decelerate the baseball, or spread the force across the target.

Q: What types of baseball gloves were tested against the supersonic baseball?

The team discussed and tested the two main glove-web styles: basket weave and H weave. Neither design stopped the supersonic baseball, and the basket-weave glove caught fire during its impact test.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Smarter Every Day successfully builds and verifies a supersonic baseball cannon capable of shooting a baseball faster than the speed of sound.

• The team tests the power of the supersonic baseball by shooting it at objects such as a boxing target, gloves, and multiple stacked gloves.

• The video reveals that the supersonic baseball is capable of going through multiple gloves and causing significant damage.