DailyDirt: Having A Ball

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Thu, Jun 19th 2014 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Maybe you've been following a sport called football (not soccer!) recently. You wouldn't be alone. The World Cup has an audience size of nearly a billion people, roughly nine times the audience that watches the Super Bowl (or the whatever-you're-allowed-to-call-it "big game"). But for those of you not really interested in watching these ~~soccer~~ football matches, here are some links on the technology behind various game balls.

Soccer ball designs have changed quite a bit since the 1920s. The Telstar Durlast ball from the 1970 World Cup is the buckyball shape that was designed to be more visible on black & white TVs. The newest ball designs have far fewer panels and seams, and they need to be tested to make sure the aerodynamics aren't too different from previous balls. [url]
The first basketball was actually a soccer ball. Before the 1940s, the technology to make an inflatable ball without laces didn't exist, so it wasn't until after basketballs could be molded for a smooth surface (without laces), that dribbling became a major part of the sport. [url]
A completely smooth golf ball would travel only about half as far as golf ball with dimples. The dimples create a turbulent boundary layer of air around the ball, and the effect can produce additional lift, depending on how the ball is hit. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

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Filed Under: aerodynamics, basketball, design, football, golf, soccer, sports, super bowl, world cup

7 Comments

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The First Word

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http://www.oneworldfutbol.com/our-stories/about-the-ball/

—Pixelation

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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 19 Jun 2014 @ 5:15pm

Maybe you've been following a sport called football (not soccer!) recently

The US, Canada, and Australia use "soccer." "Football" seems to be the non-english term.
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- Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 19 Jun 2014 @ 7:38pm
  
  Re:
  Football is the name of a group of sports including American Football, Australian Football, Canadian Football, Rugby, and Soccer. The term "Soccer" was coined by the British to reference their specific version of Football.
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  - Lawrence D�Oliveiro, 20 Jun 2014 @ 3:18am
    
    Re: American Football
    Is it called that because the ball is carried with what Americans call their feet?
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    - Anonymous G (profile), 20 Jun 2014 @ 7:12am
      
      Re: Re: American Football
      It's called that because what the Americans call a ball is carried with what Americans call their feet.
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Pixelation, 19 Jun 2014 @ 11:12pm

http://www.oneworldfutbol.com/our-stories/about-the-ball/
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Andrew Norton (profile), 20 Jun 2014 @ 8:45am

There's something missing about the world cup

needs more vuvuzela's!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Jun 2014 @ 11:36am

Soccer is a very boring sport and as soon as the US loses, 99% of Americans will lose interest.
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