You are watching: Does a metal baseball bat vibrate more than a wooden one
Bending Modes
| A openly supported baseball bat exhibits several flexural bending settings of vibrtation which are similar to those that a free-free beam. One could be skinny to think that a hand-held bat need to be treated an ext like a clamped-free (cantilever) beam. However, research has shown<1> the while the hands quickly damp the bat vibrations, a hand organized grip (even tightly gripped) does not significantly adjust the vibrational frequencies or the modeshapes. The frequencies and also shapes because that a bat which is complimentary at both ends, sufficiently define the vibrational habits of a hosted bat.The animations at right display the an initial four bending settings of a baseball bat. Actually the animations were developed from speculative data obtained for a Louisville Slugger Genesis sluggish pitch softball bat, a hollow barrel bat do from carbon fiber composite materials. However, the vibrational shapes and the node locations are very comparable to those for solid wood and aluminum baseball/softball bats I have actually tested in the acoustics laboratory at Kettering University. The first bending setting usually occurs at a frequency roughly 170Hz and also is extremely important to the performance of a bat. Among the meanings of the "sweet spot" is the location of the node at the barrel finish of the bat. This point, generally 5-7 inches from the barrel end, does not move when the bat is vibrating in its an initial (or fundamental) bending mode. One more node exists about 6 inches native the handle end (both nodes are established by the black color dots in the animation). An impact at the node will certainly not reason the bat to vibrate, and thus nobody of the initial power of the round will be lost to the bat. In addition, the player will not feel any kind of vibration at this frequency.The 2nd bending mode, typically occuring close to 600Hz, is also an extremely important together it likewise has a node about 2-3 customs from that of the very first bending mode. A "sweet zone" is often defined as the region between the nodes of the an initial two bending modes.<2> An influence in region will minimally exite the an initial two bending modes, for this reason the player will feel little vibration and also the ball will no lose energy to bat vibration.The higher bending settings probably have small influence top top the feeling of the bat, but computer calculations have displayed that lock can considerably influence the post-impact ball speed. See more: How Did The Election Of 1860 Increase Sectional Tensions ? Us History Chap <3,4> | First Bending Mode    |
Hoop Modes
A solid wood bat will only vibrate with bending movement (torsional motion?). A hole aluminum or composite bat, however, is able come vibrate with another class of setting shapes in i beg your pardon the hollow cylindrical barrel that the bat oscillates.  | First Hoop Mode    |