2016/06/27 by Léo Van Damme, L. Van Damme, Pavao Mardešić +3 · 26 citations
Engineering · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical mechanics #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #Generality #Geometry #Inertia #Mathematics #Moment of inertia #Physics #Racket #Rigid body #Rigid body dynamics #Rotation (mathematics) #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Sports Dynamics and Biomechanics #Swing #physics.class-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.physd.2016.07.010
published in Physica D Nonlinear Phenomena 338, 17-25 (Elsevier BV) · 20 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Physica D (2016)
arxiv created 2016/06/27 · openalex publication_date 2016/08/05 · arxiv updated 2017/01/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We propose a complete theoretical description of the tennis racket effect, which occurs in the free rotation of a three-dimensional rigid body. This effect is characterized by a flip (π- rotation) of the head of the racket when a full (2π) rotation around the unstable inertia axis is considered. We describe the asymptotics of the phenomenon and conclude about the robustness of this effect with respect to the values of the moments of inertia and the initial conditions of the dynamics. This shows the generality of this geometric property which can be found in a variety of rigid bodies. A simple analytical formula is derived to estimate the twisting effect in the general case. Different examples are discussed.