A sweet spot is something that embodies the best or most effective of a thing, often a spot on a bat or racket. It is usually the most productive spot and the one that is striven for, because of a combination of qualities. This term is often used to describe the spot of optimum performance in tools such as a club or racket, and is known as the center of percussion.
The term is used most frequently in sports. A person can hit a sweet spot on a baseball bat, generally in the middle of the barrel section of the bat, that usually achieves top performance. It is important because it provides most speed, energy, and power. While swinging at a pitched ball if the batter hits the ball with this part of the bat, it will drive through the ball without rebounding backward from the force of the ball. Hits on other places are followed by a small rebound, which will slightly reduce the flight of the ball.
Areas like this can be found in other sports with the same rebounding effect. For instance, a soccer ball has a sweet spot, but it can also be hit with the sweet spot of the foot. A golf ball can be hit in this way with the club or putter. A tennis racket and ball travels with the most natural flight when hit with this part of the racket. A football when punted moves with the most consistent spin on the sweet spot, and a volleyball hit just right produces no rebound effect.
There are also sweet spots in many architectural structures, such as bridges, which feature an area in the middle than can stand as a suspension or arch, and so reduces the amount of material needed to support the middle of the bridge. In electronics, too, this term refers to an area of maximum productivity or use, such as a place with optimum reception or calling capabilities in telecommunications.
A sweet spot can be referred to by a person as their field or action of top performance, or as a spot on the body that produces a most pleasurable effect. It can be found by a tattoo or piercing (often in the nose), or by a massage in many spots around the body. There can also be a sweet spot between two speakers where sound is where it was meant to be heard.
