HN Explorer

8 comments

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craftinator
And this is why I read xkcd. I salute you Randall
craftinator
Also, I believe since the batter will have left the plate before being hit by the ball, it would be considered a strike... Or a ball, if no part of the ball makes it through the strike zone.
tempestn
Ah, that's interesting! Would the X-Ray cloud be sufficient to completely blow the batter out of the box before any part of him is hit by the ball-cloud nanoseconds later? I expect some piece of batter is going to be hit by some matter that originated in the ball, within the batter's box.
someguy111
If the batter swings and is hit by a pitch its a dead ball and its a strike. If the pitch was in the strike zone then it would also be a dead ball and a strike. Otherwise If the ball hits the batter first it is a hit by pitch, if it hits the bat first its a strike. Lastly, If the batter hits the ball with one or two feet outside of the batters box he is out.
tempestn
Welp, since the batter didn't move, and parts of the ball are exploding out in all directions, the nearest thing to the incoming ball-cloud would be a piece of the batter. So I'd say he's right. Hit by ball.
superpie
Randall's book "What If?," which is a collection of these absurd hypotheticals, is for sale on Amazon for $3 right now. I've got it, it's a fun read.

Edit: I should add that it's the eBook.

eindiran
A number of years ago I read an idea (I think it might have been in James S.A. Corey's Babylon's Ashes) that I find very compelling; any object becomes a weapon given sufficiently high velocity.
pontifier
I'm convinced this wouldn't happen. At this speed, only direct collisions of nuclei would do anything. The ball would pass through the air and bat as if they weren't there... and I don't believe it would deposit an appreciable amount of energy at any particular place...

If you think I'm wrong, just think about how far high energy protons (cosmic rays) travel through our atmosphere before they lose their energy. Each atom of the baseball has a good probability of flying through the air for a substantial distance before interacting with anything at all.