Football Aerodynamics

Words: 1228
Pages: 5
Open Document
Ian Martin
Intro to Physics
Lawrence Anderson-Huang
11 December 2014
The Aerodynamics of a Football in Flight
Despite football being largely considered a game of brute, muscle heads banging into each other and kicking some prolate spheroidal object around, it is actually a physicist’s paradise. A casual fan who is unrelenting on his/her criticism of a punter who can’t pin the other team inside their 20 yard line or a place kicker who has trouble making a field goal, or even a quarterback that struggles to make throws doesn’t even realize how challenging those tasks are from a physical point of view. These are all dependent on a few factors. Some of these factors include everything from the angle that they kick the ball at, the speed of the …show more content…
The collision between the leg and the ball is for the most part elastic, which means both its angular momentum and energy are conserved (Gay 133). An average NFL punter weighs 215 pounds, of that 35 pounds is in his leg. If the assumed length of the leg is 3 feet, and if an NFL football weighs .91 pounds, then the derived equation would then be v’= .81v + 1.81lw, where w is the angular velocity, l is the length of the leg, and v is the initial speed, assuming that the frame of reference is a camera going 15 feet per second, which would make the ball appear to be stationary (Gay 137). Assuming that a ball is kicked at 100 feet per second, and it is tumbling end over end, it will rotate at around 900 revolutions per minute, or 15 revolutions per …show more content…
A major factor that affects the ball is air density. There is a huge difference when a team is playing in a place like New York City which is at sea level, or in Denver, which is a mile above sea level. The density of air in Denver is about 20% less than that of a city that is at sea level (Gay 115). If a football is kicked in a spiral in Denver, it will go 82 yards rather than the 78 yards in New York City. For a tumbling kick, when the ball is traveling end over end, it would go 41 feet rather than 45 feet, which is greater than that of a spiral kick on a pure percentage basis (Gay 117). While these numbers may seem small, football has been known as a game of inches, so every yard matters. Wind is similar to drag force in that it can go against the ball in the air, but it is different in that it can help the ball go a further distance, depending on the way that it is blowing. If a 20 mph wind is blowing in a stadium at sea level, and a ball was kicked and it was tumbling end over end, then the ball would go 20 yards, compared to 40 yards on a wind free day. In this same scenario, the ball would still lose 20 yards in distance if it was in Denver (Gay
Show More

Related Documents: Football Aerodynamics

Pamphlet Jabulani Essay

Arbeloa, commented that, "It's round, like always." Color: ● Brazilian midfielder Kaká said, "For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that's just great with this ball." 11 different colors representing the 11 starting players in a football squad, the 11 official languages of South Africa, and the 11 South African communities is perfect for a ball that is to be used for the World cup. ● English midfielder Frank Lampard called it "A very strong ball, true to hit." Design: ● German…

Words 460 - Pages 2

Essay on Dust Landing Research Proposal FINAL

Minimizing Loss Due to Dust Landing Accidents Lourie A. DeBoer Columbia Southern University Abstract US Army Aviators have incurred over $4 billion dollars in damages as a result of over 400,000 accidents since the beginning of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars (Johnson, 2007), and brownout conditions have contributed to the vast majority of them, . The dangerous visibility restriction that occurs due to dust or sand being thrown into the air due to rotor downwash interacting with sediment…

Words 6846 - Pages 28

Exploring A Guide On How To Developing A Program Ideas

Skateboarding Skydiving Snow sports (skiing, snowboarding) Snowkiting Speed skating Street luge Martial arts: Aikido Capoeira Ju Jitsu Judo Karate Self-defence Sumo Tae Kwon Do Tai Chi Team sports: American football Baseball Basketball Boccia Camogie Cricket Curling Dodge disc Dodgeball Fives Football Hockey Hurling Kabaddi Korfball Lacrosse Netball Octopushing Polo Rogaining Rounders Rugby Sledge hockey Stoolball Tchoukball Ultimate flying disc Underwater rugby Volleyball Wallyball Water polo Skills…

Words 1915 - Pages 8

From A Tribe To An Army Research Paper

Lisa Schell November 10, 2012 Lucas Kins 275 Semester 1 From a Tribe to an Army: The Development of the Popularity of Lacrosse Many centuries ago the game of lacrosse was being played by our nations Native Americans and as the sport has evolved, the popularity has taken a sudden spike. There have been some major changes to the game as lacrosse has strayed so far from the roots, you would not be able to compare it to the sport of the natives. Lacrosse began as the sport of the Native American…

Words 3296 - Pages 14

Tiffany & Co Marketing Plan Essay

MARKETING PLAN I. Executive summary………………………………………………………………………3 A. History of Tiffany & Co……………………………………………………………....3 II. Current marketing situation ………………………………………………………………7 A. Market overview……………………………………………………………………..7 i. Market demographics and needs…………………………………………….6 ii. Market trends and target market growth…………………………………….10 B. SWOT analysis………………………………………………………………………11 i. Strengths ………………………………………………………………………

Words 5291 - Pages 22