Football, Physics, and Symmetry
Two linemen colliding can light a 60W bulb for over a minute! Cool book on habits: http://www.charlesduhigg.com minutephysics is now on Google+ - http://bit.ly/qzEwc6 And facebook...
==========
When people talk about the physics of American football, they normally mention force, torque,and so on… Like how the energy from two linemen colliding is enough to power a 60Wlight bulb for over a minute, or is equivalent to an average person falling two stories offof a building!But there's another aspect of physics in football that isn't talked about as much – symmetry!You might think symmetry is just for butterflies and rorschach tests, but it's all over theplace in football: there's translational symmetry when teams keep the same formations as theymove up or down the field, and rotational symmetry when they switch sides after a touchdown.Even the ball has axial symmetry so it can spin smoothly through the air.But why is symmetry useful in th...
==========
When people talk about the physics of American football, they normally mention force, torque,and so on… Like how the energy from two linemen colliding is enough to power a 60Wlight bulb for over a minute, or is equivalent to an average person falling two stories offof a building!But there's another aspect of physics in football that isn't talked about as much – symmetry!You might think symmetry is just for butterflies and rorschach tests, but it's all over theplace in football: there's translational symmetry when teams keep the same formations as theymove up or down the field, and rotational symmetry when they switch sides after a touchdown.Even the ball has axial symmetry so it can spin smoothly through the air.But why is symmetry useful in th...
