Posts by tag: physics

Why doesn't a bat move backwards when it hits a ball?

In baseball, when a bat hits a ball, it doesn't move backwards due to the laws of motion. When the bat strikes the ball, it's the force of the swing that's transferred to the ball, causing it to move forward. The bat, in the hands of a batter, has more mass and force behind it and doesn't recoil backwards, but rather continues in its forward motion. This is all thanks to Newton's third law of motion - for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. So, in simple terms, the bat doesn't move backwards because it's stronger and heavier than the ball.