An analysis of the physics of baseball bats is presented in this study. In particular, the analysis focuses on the safety of various types of baseball bats and the numerous approaches that have been taken in the industry to improve their safety. In order to evaluate their safety, several factors have been analyzed including the baseball poline effect, the durability of the bat and its constituent materials. In this study, a novel, patented, reinforced wooden baseball bat has been examined to determine its durability and safety relative to traditional wooden

A diaphragm based magnetic field sensor is designed and fabricated. A thin metal diaphragm is used as a sensing element and it responds to an external magnetic field. Deformation of the diaphragm due to the pressure produced from the interaction between the magnetic field and the metal surface is detected electronically through a Wheatstone bridge placed over the diaphragm. Analytical and experimental analyses are used to study the precision and accuracy of devices for sensing magnetic field flux.

A pressure sensor that combines two principles of measurement into one integrated unit with optical and electronic parts is fabricated and tested. The sensing element for both integrated parts is an embossed silicon diaphragm that deflects under differential pressure. The optical part of the sensor is based on Fabry-Perot interferometry; the electronic part of the sensor is based on the piezoresistive effect in silicon. In the application of Fabry-Perot interferometry, the sensing element utilizes an optical cavity, where interference of multiple reflections changes with movement of the diaphragm caused by pressure. In the application of the piezoresistive effect, a change in the electrical resistivity of a sensor material is induced by mechanical stress in the diaphragm and detected by a Wheatstone bridge circuit. The advantages of introducing the embossed diaphragm in sensor fabrication and its benefits for integration are discussed. The existence of a nearly ideal Fabry-Perot interferometer in the optical part of the sensor is demonstrated experimentally. Noise characteristics of the Fabry-Perot part of the sensor are presented. The independently produced electronic output serves to establish the quiescence point (Q-point) of the output from the optical part of the sensor.

A novel design for a Fabry-Perot Interferometric Sensor (FPIS) consisting of a Fabry-Perot cavity formed between two bonded surfaces is discussed The Fabry-Perot cavity and the optical fiber to which it is coupled are used as the sensing element and interconnect, respectively. The Fabry-Perot cavity is fabricated using the Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. The introduction of a center rigid body diaphragm gives this sensor considerable advantage when compared with previous Fabry-Perot cavity based sensors.

An embossed silicon diaphragm is introduced in the design and fabrication of an integrated two-sensor device. In this integrated approach, the optical pressure sensor is based on Fabry-Perot interferometry and the electronic pressure sensor is based on piezoresistivity. Deformation of the same diaphragm due to external applied pressure can be simultaneously detected optically and electronically. Analytical and experimental analyses are used to study the precision and accuracy of devices for sensing pressures in fluidic and gaseous media.

Indirect Template Magnetic Field Assisted Assembly (IT-MFAA), a parallel processing technique, is presented. IT-MFAA is designed to assemble devices onto substrates through a versatile and scalable methodology, which is capable of adjusting to manufacturing situations and producing 100% yields with error correction. This paper discusses existing serial and parallel techniques and compares them to IT-MFAA. It demonstrates that IT-MFAA circumvents drawbacks present in other techniques, and outlines a model of IT-MFAA.

An analysis of the physics of baseball bats is presented in this study. The analysis compares the performance of aluminum and wooden baseball bats. Novel experimental approaches to indirectly quantify the performance of these bats have been implemented. The analysis also considers various aspects of baseball including the physical dimensions of the baseball fields, ball exit speed ratio, moment of inertia, trampoline effect, coefficient of restitution and youth baseball. In youth baseball, the baseball bats used are more effective relative to the physical dimensions of the baseball fields. The novelty, in this study, focuses on the investigation of bat and ball collision with the ball immersed in liquid nitrogen. The results seem to suggest that the energy transfer between aluminum bat and liquid nitrogen immersed ball is better than that of wooden bat and immersed ball.