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The Physics of Sports

This topic in depth provides information about the relationship between physics and sports. First, the Exploratorium Museum provides fun, educational information and animations about the science of baseball, cycling, skateboarding, hockey, and surfing (1). Visitors can also learn about the way a ball bounces and how a foot's shape affects sports performance. Next, Randolph-Macon Woman's College addresses the physical concepts that affect swinging a bat, kicking a soccer ball, throwing a football, and bouncing a basketball (2). Through this educational website, students can find simple, relevant examples to help them understand Newton's laws. At the third website,Tom Robinson at Kent School District discusses the basic physics principles such as inertia and friction that apply to basketball (3). High school students and educators can learn about the theory of basketball shots and lay-ups in this concise explanation. Next, David Eyre at the University of Utah summarizes answers to some of the common questions he receives about the physics of skiing (4). With the assistance of figures and mathematical equations, visitors can learn about the side cut and turning radius of a ski as well as the relationship between weight and speed. The fifth website (5), created by Dr. Russell at Kettering University addresses the general physics concepts concerning baseball and softball bats and bat vibrations. Although some of the links are still under construction, students and educators can learn a lot about ball-bat collisions with the many images, figures, and animations. Next, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign investigates the notion that people use physics every time they participate in a sport (6). With the use of QuickTime videos, the website discusses Newton's first three laws and the concept of universal gravitation. In the seventh website (7), Dr. Tim Gay at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln discusses the physical concepts related to football such as vectors, impulse, and atoms. The website provides seven current as well as archived QuickTime videos of entertaining lectures to help students understand physical concepts. Lastly, David Baxter explores the physical aspects of scuba diving that people experience in the high pressure environment (8). Visitors can find out about pressure, buoyancy, sound, light, and thermal insulation. [RME]
Alternate Title
1 Sport Science 2 The Science of Sports3 The Physics of Basketball4 The physics of skiing5 Physics and Acoustics of Baseball and Softball Bats 6 Physi
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Date of Scout Publication
February 20th, 2004
Date Of Record Creation
February 19th, 2004 at 12:43pm
Date Of Record Release
August 7th, 2007 at 11:40pm
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8

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