It’s a good thing that’s an oak, saving you all from a Pythonic comment about felling conifers and floating the logs down a twisty river… Oops, too late.Punsman, spare that tree joke!
The short answer is that hardness isn’t the only criterion for making a good bat.Oak used to be very popular for baseball bats, and there is still a niche market for it. But ash is almost as hard as oak, and slightly lighter.Hickory is quite a bit harder than either and used to be used for bats, but it’s very dense so bats from it tend to be too heavy. Sugar maple is also significantly harder, and about the same density as ash, but the grain is such that it splinters easily.Hardness is a measure of resistance to denting, not of breaking. Sandstone and quartzite are both silicon dioxide and so equally hard, but as I know from personal experience if you hit a block of sandstone with a geological hammer you’ll break it, while if you hit a block of quartzite you’ll just dent the face of the hammer. The difference between the two is the grain: quartzite is sandstone that has been compressed and heated to the point where the sand grains are fused together.
Apart from the question of whether the difference is a matter of end hardness, side hardness, or grain character, you’re right about oak not being the hardest wood. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test.
“Most wooden bats are made from ash. Other natural materials used include maple tree wood, hickory wood, and bamboo. Hickory has fallen into disfavor because it is much heavier than other woods…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat
That probably applies to oak as well, if not more.
Linguist almost 12 years ago
And now… For something completely different…
runar almost 12 years ago
Maybe she should have been trying Not Being Seen.
thesnowleopard Premium Member almost 12 years ago
It’s all fun and games until some bird craps in your eye.
KasparV almost 12 years ago
The bird wasn’t pinin’ for the fjords.
Richard Howland-Bolton Premium Member almost 12 years ago
Ah! Quercus maximus Bamber Gascoigneii
Tirasmol almost 12 years ago
hahahaahahaahaaa
Coyoty Premium Member almost 12 years ago
It’s a good thing that’s an oak, saving you all from a Pythonic comment about felling conifers and floating the logs down a twisty river… Oops, too late.Punsman, spare that tree joke!
Mostly Water Premium Member almost 12 years ago
Reminds me of the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
corzak almost 12 years ago
Is that a condor up in that tree?
prrdh almost 12 years ago
Your Maj, this is why professional educators deliver their lectures in classrooms instead of under trees.
ewalnut almost 12 years ago
Shouldn’t she be picking up a shotgun instead of an ax? It’s not like the birds need to be sitting on something to poop on you.
prrdh almost 12 years ago
The short answer is that hardness isn’t the only criterion for making a good bat.Oak used to be very popular for baseball bats, and there is still a niche market for it. But ash is almost as hard as oak, and slightly lighter.Hickory is quite a bit harder than either and used to be used for bats, but it’s very dense so bats from it tend to be too heavy. Sugar maple is also significantly harder, and about the same density as ash, but the grain is such that it splinters easily.Hardness is a measure of resistance to denting, not of breaking. Sandstone and quartzite are both silicon dioxide and so equally hard, but as I know from personal experience if you hit a block of sandstone with a geological hammer you’ll break it, while if you hit a block of quartzite you’ll just dent the face of the hammer. The difference between the two is the grain: quartzite is sandstone that has been compressed and heated to the point where the sand grains are fused together.
prrdh almost 12 years ago
Apart from the question of whether the difference is a matter of end hardness, side hardness, or grain character, you’re right about oak not being the hardest wood. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test.
Durak Premium Member almost 12 years ago
I’m going to see Spamalot week after next. I hope they do a NAQV crossover joke.
Sherlock Watson almost 12 years ago
Did Queenie turn into Floyd R. Turbo in the last panel?
meowlin almost 12 years ago
“Most wooden bats are made from ash. Other natural materials used include maple tree wood, hickory wood, and bamboo. Hickory has fallen into disfavor because it is much heavier than other woods…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat
That probably applies to oak as well, if not more.
jerseyinsd almost 12 years ago
…it’s… [cue “liberty bell march”]