Fast serves don't make sense – unless you factor in physics

Fast serves don't make sense – unless you factor in physics

5 years ago
Anonymous $L9wC17otzH

https://phys.org/news/2019-01-fast-dont-factor-physics.html

So how do they do it? The answer involves Isaac Newton, ping pong and a little bit of "cheating" (from a physics point of view).

A ball hit fast and straight cannot clear the net and still land in the service square unless the ball is struck from at least 2.6 metres above the ground. According to this equation, there's simply not enough time for gravity to drag a high-speed ball down inside the service square.