Physics 24, Section 1
Physics of Sports (P/NP)
Professor Joseph Orenstein
Tuesday 11:00-12:00, 567 Evans Hall, CCN: 69895Athletes today can propel baseballs to distances of 500 feet and golf balls to distances of 1200 feet. In the case of golf, a clubhead moving at approximately 120 miles per hour collides with a ball to impart an initial velocity of approximately 185 miles per hour. During the course of this semester we will investigate the physical principles that govern how the ball is launched as a result of these powerful collisions, as well as its subsequent flight. In the process we will learn about conservation of energy and angular momentum, elastic versus inelastic processes, and the aerodynamics of lift and drag. Improvement in athletic performance is not guaranteed.
After ten years in the Material Physics Department of Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, Professor Joseph Orenstein migrated west to UC Berkeley in 1990. Since then he has been a Professor in the Department of Physics and taught a wide variety of courses, both graduate and undergraduate. Professor Orenstein's research is in the field of high-temperature superconductivity. His research group uses optical techniques, based on short-pulse lasers, to try to understand the intricate behavior of conducting electrons in these materials.
