Question

You are sitting in the central park bleachers of a Major League baseball park. You see a batter strike a pitched ball. About 0.4 seconds later you hear the contact between the bat and the ball. In terms of the properties of light and sound waves, how do you explain the difference in the communications you receivedbabout the same event?

Answer 1

Answer:

See the answer below

Explanation:

The speed of light in air and space is faster than the speed of sound in the same media. Light travels with a speed of approximately 3 x $10^8$ m/s while sound can only travel at 343 m/s (at 20 $^oC$).

Consequently, the visuals of a batter striking a pitched ball which travel by light and is perceived through the eyes would be seen before the sound of the strike.

The difference in the speeds of light and that of sound largely explains the difference in the communication received about seeing a batter striking a pitched ball before hearing the sound of the strike