April 30, 1997
Thanks to every who responded to my question about the relationship between
task (throwing) velocity and object (ball) mass.
QUESTION:
I am looking for any (all) manuscripts that report studying the velocity of
a task (e.g. swinging a bat or throwing a ball) as a function of the mass
of the object being swung/thrown.
I am especially interested in references that have used Hill's equation
(Fenn and Marsh) or other similar equations to predict the relationship
between task velocity and the mass of the object.
My specific question is: How does baseball/softball bat mass (and inertia)
influence swing velocity?
While most studies on bat-ball impacts have looked at the mechanics of the
impact, I can find only one study that uses Hill-type equations to
incorporate the "biomechanics". (Bahill and Karnavas, Determining Ideal
Baseball Bat Weights Using Muscle Force-Velocity Relationships, Bio. Cyber
62,89-97,1989).
Have similar studies been performed in other sports? Any general articles
on predicting task velocity for a given mass would also be helpful.
RESPONSES:
****
Some old refs that may be useful (primarily throwing and isolated limb
movements):
Nelson, RC and RA Fahrney (1965). Res. Quart. 36(4): 455-463. Egstrom, GH
et al. (1960). Res. Quart. 31: 420-425. Wright, EJ. (1967). Res. Quart.
38(4): 705-714. Smith, LE (1964). Res. Quart. 35: 546-553. Nelson, RC and
MR Nofsinger. (1965). Res. Quart. 36(2): 174-180. DeRenne, C et al. (1990).
J. Appl. Sport Sci. Res. 4(1): 16-19. Whitley, JD and LE Smith. (1963) Res.
Quart. 34(3): 379-395. [probably the most appropriate]
Henry, FM and JD Whitley. 1960. Res. Quart. 31(1): 24-33.
Jeff Ives, PhD
Ithaca College
jives@ithaca.edu
****
The article, "Load compensation in human goal-directed arm movements" by O.
Bock in Behavioral Brain Research, 41(1990), p. 167-177 has some data on
velocity scaling with mass load for so called "self-paced" multijoint arm
movements. It sounds like you are probably looking for references where a
subject's maximal effort is used though.
David Lin
Northwestern University
davidlin@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
****
My laboratory has just published an article in the latest issue of the
Canadian Journal of Zoology that raises some questions about "Hill-type"
muscle force-velocity relationships. The paper is "A predicted in vivo
muscle force-velocity trajectory", J-Y. Cheng and M.E. DeMont, Can. J.
Zool. 75(3), 371-375.
Edwin DeMont, Ph.D.
St. Francis Xavier University
edemont@juliet.stfx.ca
****
An article entitled "The ideal baseball bat" by Bahill and Karnavas also
appeared in New Scientist 6 April 1991.
Con Hrysomallis, PhD
Department of Human Movement
Victoria University
ConHrysomallis@vut.edu.au
****
Kunz HR (1974) Effects of ball mass and movement pattern on release
velocity in throwing. In Biomechanics IV, pp 163-8. Baltimore: University
Park Press.
Red WE & Zogaib AJ (1977) Javelin dynamics including body interaction. J
App Mech 44, 496-7.
Viitasalo JT & Korjus T (1988) On-line measurement of kinematic
characteristics in javelin throwing. In Biomechanics XI, pp 583-7.
Amsterdam: Free University Press.
The latter two relate to an individual's speed/angle relationship when
throwing. The following two studies use these relationships in computer
simulations of javelin release and flight.
Hubbard M (1984) Optimal javelin trajectories. J Biomech 17, 777-87. Best R
et al. (1995) Optimal javelin release. J App Biomech 11, 371-94.
Russell Best
Victoria University
russell@dingo.vut.edu.au
****
Gottlieb, G. L., D. M. Corcos, et al. (1989). "Organizing principles for
single joint movements: I - A speed-insensitive strategy." Journal of
Neurophysiology 62(2): 342-357.
The following uses force-velocity properties to explain the amount of EMG
in the antagonist.
Gottlieb, G. L., M. L. Latash, et al. (1992). "Organizing principles for
single joint movements: V. Agonist-antagonist interactions." Journal of
Neurophysiology 67(6): 1417-1427.
Gerry Gottlieb
Boston University
glg@bu.edu
****
In my PhD, I had subjects throw softballs of masses ranging from (I am
testing my memory now!) about 300 g to 1400 g. I analysed the data in a
variety of ways but did not use anything like Hill's muscle model. I could
look up the thesis because I think I have information on release velocities
(and possible segment cm velocities) at each of the ball masses (4 I
think!).
Robert Neal, PhD
Department of Human Movement Studies
The University of Queensland
NEAL@HMS01.HMS.UQ.OZ.AU
__________________________________________________ _____________________
J.J. Trey Crisco, Ph.D.
Director Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics, RIH
Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, RIH
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Division of Engineering, Brown University
Mailing address:
Orthopaedic Research, SWP-3
Rhode Island Hospital
593 Eddy Street
Providence, RI 02903
Voice: 401-444-4231
Fax: 401-444-4559
Email: joseph_crisco_iii@brown.edu
__________________________________________________ _____________________