Physics in Football

This weekend, I watched the Sunday night prime time football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants.  The Colts dominated the game and won by a score of 38-14.  Since the game was such a blowout, I was able to focus my attention on the physics of the game of football.  Peyton Manning, the best quarterback in the National Football League, faced off against his brother Eli Manning, the quarterback of the Giants.  Everytime Peyton passes the ball, physics is involved in the process.  When he is waiting under center, he has an initial velocity of zero.  As he is dropping back and reading the defense, he is accelerating away from the origin, the line of scrimmage.  If Peyton feels the defense appyling pressure, which isn't often, he changes his acceleration and velocity in order to avoid the sack.  Peyton Manning is an excellent quarterback, one of the best at his positions, who is able to apply physics in order to do his job as a passer.  Go Colts!

Physics in Baseball

This past weekend I was throwing with my dad when I realized, "Hey throwing a baseball is realted to what we have been studying in Physics.  As I began to ponder this thought, I realized tha baseball, in itself, is a game of Physics.  Everything you do, whether it be hitting, fielding, running, or throwing, involves some concpet relating to physics.  When you throw a ball, it is accelerating as it travels from point a to point b; my hand to my partners glove.  An average major league pitcher throws the ball at a velocity of 90 mph.  Some pitchers can throw in the upper 90s to lower 100s!  At this speed, a hitter has less than half a second to react to the pitch once it is released from the pitcher's hand.  Baseball is a fun sport that deeply involves concepts of physics.