Dead Spot of a tennis racket

 The dead spot is a spot in the racket where if

a ball strikes it will not bounce back.

 All of the ball’s energy is given to the racket

and none of the energy is given back to the
ball.

 The effective mass of the racket (usually near

the op of the racket) is equal to the mass of
the ball.

 Mechanically, this effective mass of the

racket is the ratio of force exerted to the
Tennis racket
acceleration produced at the dead spot.
Badminton racket
The Mathematics Behind a Dead Spot
 Since the effective mass of the racket at the dead
spot and the mass of the hitting ball is same, let us
assume the ideal collision between the two balls of
same mass.
 Let the first ball be at initial velocity 𝜐0 and the
other ball is at rest. Let 𝜐1 and 𝜐2 be the velocities
of the two balls after the collision.
 By the conservation of kinetic energy and the linear
momentum we can write,
 Since, at the dead spot there is no returning
energy give to the ball, its momentum must fall
off to zero, i.e. 𝜐1 = 0.
Or,
𝜐2 = 𝜐0
 The dead spot is a very bad spot to return a
serve. On the other hand when you actively hit
a stationary ball, as in your own serve, the dead
spot will provide a high momentum transfer.

1 1 1
𝑚𝜐0 = 𝑚𝜐1 + 𝑚𝜐22
2 2
2 2 2
And
𝑚𝜐0 = 𝑚𝜐1 + 𝑚𝜐2
Dead Spot of a tennis racket
The Physics of Archery

https://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/physics-of-archery.html
The Physics of Archery
 There is a very interesting physical phenomenon in the
physics behind archery, known as Archer's paradox.

 When an arrow is released to the left (or right) of a bow its

trajectory follows a path that is different from its expected
trajectory.

 The contradiction, or paradox, arises from the fact that the

arrow oscillates during its release, as the string is exerting its
"push" force at the rear of the arrow. As a result of this
oscillation, the arrow undulates around the bow shaft,
enabling it to fly in a trajectory that is in the same direction
as the arrow axis at full draw.
Analysis of the Archer’s paradox
 Due to the relatively high force of the bow string acting on
the arrow, it rapidly accelerates and a high-speed camera is
required to capture the motion.

 Also, because this large force is acting in the direction of the

arrow shaft, it begins to oscillate (fishtail) back and forth.

 This is the natural vibration the arrow and is experienced

when subjected to a brief but large force.

 It's similar to hitting something with a hammer and it

vibrating as a result.

 The force acting on the arrow is equal to the draw force as

the archer pulls the string back to the release position (at
full draw). This force can be in the range of 30-50 lb which is
very large compared to the mass of the arrow, which is why
it accelerates so rapidly (due to Newton's second law, F =
ma).
Analysis of the Archer’s paradox
 In the above figure, the line of sight used by the archer,
when aiming, lies along the axis of the arrow at full draw.
This is also the trajectory of the arrow after it is released.

 This trajectory differs from the expected trajectory the

arrow would take if it were completely rigid (and did not
oscillate). This expected trajectory is shown in the above
figure. This expected trajectory for a rigid arrow coincides
with the axis of the arrow at the pre-draw position, which is
the expected (and not actual) final position of the arrow just
before it exits the bow (assuming the arrow were rigid). This
discrepancy between the (expected) trajectory of a rigid
arrow and of the actual arrow (due to arrow oscillation) is at
the heart of the archer's paradox.
First phase of Archer’s paradox
In this first stage illustrated above, three things happen:

1. As the archer opens his fingers, the string slides off and moves to the left.
This happens because, as the fingers open, the friction between string and
finger becomes insufficient to hold the string in place. So it slides off, and it
does so at an angle to the median plane of the bow. This results in an initial
sideways movement of the string. In reality, it would be impossible for an
archer to open his fingers fast enough to prevent the string from sliding off to
the side a bit, since the string moves much too quickly.

2. The leftward motion of the string excites a mode of oscillation where the
arrow begins to vibrate in the plane of the page. The string force F1 contributes
to the deflection of the arrow δ beyond that due to the leftward motion of the
string by itself. Note that F1 acts in the direction of the arrow shaft.

3. The arrow is contacting the bow at point P due to a clockwise moment

exerted by the string on the arrow. This moment can be taken about the center
of mass G (of the arrow) at the instant shown. This moment is equal to 𝐹1 𝑟1,
where 𝑟1 is the moment arm F1 makes with G. Note that this moment
calculation ignores the lateral (sideways) force exerted by the string on the
arrow, which is small compared to F1.
Second phase of Archer’s paradox
During this second stage illustrated above, two things happen:

1. The string moves to the right, as it restores its original

position with the median plane of the bow. As a result, the
string "pulls" on the arrow with a force F2.

2. The tip of the arrow T moves slightly to the left. This is due to
a counter-clockwise moment exerted by the string on the
arrow. This moment can be taken about the center of mass G at
the instant shown. This moment is equal to (F1r1 + F2r2), where
r2 is the moment arm F2 makes with G.

The figure below shows the arrow as it reaches the

approximate halfway point past the bow.
Second phase of Archer’s paradox
 The reason the tip of the arrow T moves to the left can be Now, the lateral motion of T (in the plane of the page)
understood if one considers the general two-dimensional is due to two separate contributions:
moment equation for a rigid body (taken in the plane of the
page): (a) The counter-clockwise rotation of the arrow due to
α. This causes T to move to the left.
𝑀𝐺 = 𝐼𝐺 𝛼
(b) The lateral (translational) motion of the arrow due
 General moment equation for arrow
to the string pulling the rear of the arrow E to the right.
Since E is below the sweet spot (shown in the figure
 Where:
above), movement of E to the right causes movement
 Σ𝑀𝐺 is the sum of the moments about the center of
of T to the left.
mass G.
 𝐼𝐺 is the moment of inertia of the arrow about the
It is likely that contribution (a) is much greater than
center of mass G, about an axis pointing out of the
contribution (b), but for purposes of making the
page.
analysis more complete one must consider the latter
 α is the angular acceleration of the arrow.
contribution as well.
 Since the sum of the moments is counter-clockwise, α is
also counter-clockwise, which means the arrow rotates
counter-clockwise.
Third phase of Archer’s paradox
 In the third and final stage illustrated here, the arrow exits
the bow completely, having completed (approximately) one
full oscillation. The arrow is now flying straight to the target.
It will continue oscillating all the way to the target, with
oscillation gradually decreasing in amplitude, but
maintaining the same frequency throughout the flight.