Hidden Forces: From Home Runs to Black Holes

Baseball fans have long had a fascination with tape measure home runs. Nowadays, fly ball distances are accurately measured using ball-tracking technologies. But in the past, distances were only estimates and, in many cases, overestimates. The generally accepted record for the longest home run, estimated at 565 feet, was hit by Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle at Washington's Griffith Stadium in April 1953. But how far did it really go? In this talk, I will show how a physicist approaches answering this question many years after the fact. It is a case study in forensic physics.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge aims to produce 3 billion gallons of eco-friendly jet fuel by 2030. However, current SAFs cannot blend as much with regular jet fuel because they lack certain key ingredients. To address this, waste plastic has been turned into a helpful additive that improves the fuel performance, increases how much it can blend, and reduces plastic waste. This approach not only helps the environment by reducing plastic waste going to landfills but also boosts the use and performance of eco-friendly jet fuel.

The Event Horizon Telescope made the first image of a black hole.