Jurek, .....I went to your
www.scri.fsu.edu/~jac/Java/baseball4.html site & tried a little "experiment".
I launched a baseball in the simulator at 93mph, an angle of 35deg. It "flew" 330ft.
I assumed the baseball sphere had a volume of 8 cubic units.
I found the circular area a flying sphere of 8 cubic units presents to the oncoming wind. It is 4.75 square units.
I "rearranged" these 8 units into an almond shaped glande that flying point-first would present just 2 units to the oncoming wind.
The same almond glande flying edge-first would present 4 to the oncoming wind.
The same almond glande flying top first would present all 8 units to the oncoming wind.
My estimates are these. If my spherical glande could fly 330feet, my almond glande flying point first (best case) could make 430feet, ....almost 1/3 farther than the sphere. Worst case is my almond glande flying flat-side first, making just 277feet, ....which is 15% less than the sphere.
Here's the kicker, ....a well thrown (point-first) glande in my "experiment" "flew" 432feet, ....which is over 50% more distance than a poorly thrown (flat-side first) glande at 277feet.
If the above is pretty much right, why would ancient slingsters throw almond glandes if they couldnt control them go point-first? Distance results and therefore accuracy of "uncontrolled" almond glandes are just too variable. I say, if they had not means of controlling the almond glandes, they would have thrown spherical glandes.
What do you-all think?? mgreenfield