Football Physics
The Science of the Game
Timothy Gay
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Description
This fascinating, one-of-a-kind book is the ultimate read for serious fans of America's most popular spectator sport. Relive pro football's legendary plays—Franco Harris's Immaculate Reception, Joe Montana's scrambling pass for The Catch, Dick Butkus's ferocious drive-stopping defense, and much more—while gaining a fresh appreciation for the dynamics of blocking and tackling, open-field running, kicking, passing, the struggle at the line of scrimmage, and the role played by padding, turf, and the decibels of sound generated by the home crowd.
Illustrated with classic NFL action photos and original diagrams that illuminate the natural laws governing this deceptively simple game, Football Physics reveals phenomenal facts, like:
A Dick Butkus tackle packed the same force as an adult killer whale
The energy exerted by players in a single game would lift a 1.5-ton pickup truck 1.4 miles in the air
The law of vector addition allowed Joe Montana to connect with Dwight Clark for "The Catch" in the 1981 NFC Championship—though even a 0.53-second error in timing could lead to an incomplete pass or worse
The instantaneous force exerted on a kicked ball at the moment of impact can reach 1 ton
The top speed and maximum acceleration of offensive linemen like Hall of Fame Cincinnati Bengals tackle Anthony Munoz can make the difference between 6 points and a field goal in a short-yardage situation
Kicking long in Denver's mile-high air produces about a 5-yard advantage over kicking in any stadium near sea level where the atmospheric density is greater
Sound level down on the field can reach more than 120 decibels—the equivalent to front-row seats at a KISS concert
TIMOTHY GAY played football at Caltech and earned his Ph.D. in atomic physics from the University of Chicago. He has been a professor of physics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln since 1993. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and heads a research group that studies electron and neutrino physics. His video segments on football and physics have been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, ESPN Magazine, and People magazine, and on the ABC Evening News, NPR, and elsewhere.
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- $8.99
- Category: Football
- Published: Sep 09, 2004
- Publisher: Rodale
- Seller: Rodale Inc.
- Print Length: 288 Pages
- Language: English
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