Exploring the paradox of paddle weight versus swing weight in pickleball paddles leads us to a fascinating realm where physics meets fun.
Summary
- Paddle swing weight is not directly proportional to paddle weight due to weight distribution and balance.
- Swing weight is a measure of how heavy it feels to swing a paddle, influenced by the location of mass along the paddle.
- The moment of inertia plays a significant role in defining how easy or difficult it is to rotate an object, affecting its swing weight.
Gearing Up the Swing: Weight Distribution and Balance
swingweight is. Not the overall weight of an item, but a rating of how heavy is to swing. Which has very little to do with the overall static weight of the item, but about whether the item is base heavy or head heavy or balance, and whether your holding it at the balance point or above or below the balance point. Some pickleball paddles have more weight in the head and face of the paddle compared to others. The more weight that is distributed towards the head, and beyond the balance point, will increase the swing weight. This can create a situation where a paddle with a heavier static weight can have a lighter swing weight.
Unraveling the Physics: Moment of Inertia Insights
The rotational equivalent of mass is moment of inertia. MI = Sum (mass * perpendicular distance of the mass from the axis of rotation’^2). So you could have dumbbell A: two 1 kg masses, one at each end of a 1m stick and dumbbell B: two 1 kg masses, one at each end of a 0.5m stick. Both dumbbells “weigh” the same (their total mass = 2kg). But if you pick each one up about the center of the stick, and twist your wrists, dumbbell A is 4 times as hard to rotate as dumbbell B. A’s mass is more spread out w.r.t. the axis of rotation. (Edit: but if you pick them each up by one END and rotate about the axis of the rods from your elbows, their MI’s are the same and they’ll be similarly easy to twist. Cool.)
Weighty Matters: Distribution and Effects
Probably weight distribution from handle to head.