Tennis physicist, Howard Brody - RIP

[SystemicAnomaly]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/s...83-expert-in-physics-of-tennis-dies.html?_r=0

Just came across a NY Times article that Howard Brody, particle physicist, had passed away last year. He´s done a considerable amount of work in the field of tennis physics since the 1970s. Many in this forum know him for his books, Tennis Science for Tennis Players (1987) and The Physics and Technology of Tennis (2002). He has lectured and written numerous articles on tennis science as well.

Note: I posted this news here, in the Tennis Tips forum, because his work has been referenced here quite a few times and is probably not known by very many posters outside of this forum.

 

[sureshs]

Old news

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Old news

Not that old. Had not seen it posted in these forums and I´m sure that many, like me, were not aware of his passing. This is certainly more current news than your Nigerian scam thread.

 

[Kalin]

I didn't know about it.... R.I.P.

 

[Tight Lines]

Thanks for the post. I have his book and highly recommend it for the tennis geeks like me. RIP.

Harry

 

[sureshs]

Not that old. Had not seen it posted in these forums and I´m sure that many, like me, were not aware of his passing. This is certainly more current news than your Nigerian scam thread.

It was posted in both Odds and Ends and Rackets forums. I find it funny when the RIP threads keep coming because it looks like the guy died many times.

My thread was not about Nigerian scam, just general scam

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

It was posted in both Odds and Ends and Rackets forums. I find it funny when the RIP threads keep coming because it looks like the guy died many times...

Thanks for the feedback. Before I started this thread, I had performed a Search on his name to see if his passing had previously been posted. I had overlooked that ¨Search this forum only¨ was the default when I conducted that search. Also, like others here, I very rarely visit the O&E, Racquets, or Strings forums.

 

[JohnYandell]

He used to send me acerbic corrections of errors he felt he had discovered, including some in my work. "Do not reply" he would add...He blessed our initial high speed filming at the Open in 1997--without that the USTA would not have probably approved. One year in Hilton Head he made me extremely nervous taking copious notes during my presentation on the heavy ball and to my great relief told me it all had "held together." He loved Allen Fox because Allen would tell him when his theories were crazy. I never saw him hit a ball but he was apparently a pretty good player. Coached one college match and was undefeated. Avid New York Times reader and the most excited I ever saw him was when he wife would periodically get a letter to the editor published on some weighty political issue.

 

[Curiosity]

While he was alive we lived in the same township. I spent many hours on the courts of which he was a habitue. Cut to the chase: The Univ. of Pennsylvania contributed two lights of local tennis. Brody was an obvious candidate. However, I consider the long time chairmen of the med school's Department of Psychiatry to be a close runner up...who wrote the (oral tradition) book on mind games. Over decades. Teaching by example.... Physics and Psychiatry contain much of the essence of the thing. In all, then, a quality university.

 

[shindemac]

RIP man. He's one with the force now. I will try to procure a copy of his book to celebrate his life and achievements. Does he have any books on quantum mechanics? I'll take a gander at those too if he wrote any.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

RIP man. He's one with the force now. I will try to procure a copy of his book to celebrate his life and achievements. Does he have any books on quantum mechanics? I'll take a gander at those too if he wrote any.

Don´t know if he wrote much in the field of particle/nuclear physics. Seems that he switched over to tennis physics early on.

http://www.economist.com/news/obitu...tennis-died-august-11th-aged-83-science-swing

 

[Vanhalen]

I didn't know. Thanks for posting. Suresh ...go away.

 

[shindemac]

i've been looking at quantum mechanics lately because it's an interesting topic. quantum mechanics deals with the world of the very small, like down to the size of atoms and smaller. photons and electrons are particles, and they behave in strange ways. physicists have been trying to decipher the true nature of these particles for the last 100 years. there's a lot of crazy theories and some of them may not have any math behind it so it's turning into a philosophy debate. i mean, tennis is interesting too, but there's a lot of interconnectedness in this.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

i've been looking at quantum mechanics lately because it's an interesting topic. quantum mechanics deals with the world of the very small, like down to the size of atoms and smaller. photons and electrons are particles, and they behave in strange ways. physicists have been trying to decipher the true nature of these particles for the last 100 years. there's a lot of crazy theories and some of them may not have any math behind it so it's turning into a philosophy debate. i mean, tennis is interesting too, but there's a lot of interconnectedness in this.

Lot of interesting programs on PBS:

http://www.pbs.org/video/2167398185/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/elegant-universe.html

 

[shindemac]

Lot of interesting programs on PBS:

http://www.pbs.org/video/2167398185/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/elegant-universe.html

Thanks, I'll check it out. I'm trying to understand the probabilistic nature of particles i.e. light. I understand the 2 slit experiments that confirm it's a wave, but i don't see the connection between later experiments that say photons don't have a definite position until we measure them.

I'll look at the quantum entanglement videos. It's a pretty cool concept, but hopefully scientists can figure out how particles get entangled. You'll probably need to watch the videos at least 10 times before you understand how the experiments confirmed entanglement. I mean the concept is easy to understand, but how do you design an experiment to prove it is harder to get.

 

[LakeSnake]

i've been looking at quantum mechanics lately because it's an interesting topic. quantum mechanics deals with the world of the very small, like down to the size of atoms and smaller. photons and electrons are particles, and they behave in strange ways. physicists have been trying to decipher the true nature of these particles for the last 100 years. there's a lot of crazy theories and some of them may not have any math behind it so it's turning into a philosophy debate. i mean, tennis is interesting too, but there's a lot of interconnectedness in this.

Wouldn't string theory be more applicable.... sorry.

 

[mntlblok]

I believe it is appropriate to ask in this thread if anyone here has noticed who asked the "rules" question this month in _Tennis_ magazine.

Hope you guys have made yer way to the Physics area on quora.com - my latest addiction - if you have interest in quantum mechanics, relativity, and such. There are some amazingly sharp and helpful folks donating understandable answers to questions there.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Thanks, I'll check it out. I'm trying to understand the probabilistic nature of particles i.e. light. I understand the 2 slit experiments that confirm it's a wave, but i don't see the connection between later experiments that say photons don't have a definite position until we measure them.

I'll look at the quantum entanglement videos. It's a pretty cool concept, but hopefully scientists can figure out how particles get entangled. You'll probably need to watch the videos at least 10 times before you understand how the experiments confirmed entanglement. I mean the concept is easy to understand, but how do you design an experiment to prove it is harder to get.

..................................................
Hope you guys have made yer way to the Physics area on quora.com - my latest addiction - if you have interest in quantum mechanics, relativity, and such. There are some amazingly sharp and helpful folks donating understandable answers to questions there.

The Science Daily subject "Quantum Physics" has excellent news for the areas of physics that you are interested in. You can select areas of interest and receive daily emails with links to a few interesting discoveries in those areas.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/quantum_physics/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/newsletters.htm
Then click "Tech" for a selection of the technical subjects.

 

[mntlblok]

I believe it is appropriate to ask in this thread if anyone here has noticed who asked the "rules" question this month in _Tennis_ magazine.

Oops. Just realized that it was only the *first* question in the article - the one about double hits. . .