Most people who study the physics of basketball get deep into the art of shooting, passing, and dribbling instead of actually playing the sport. Fontanella, shows how you can improve your game if you take advice from isaac newton. Just press the button to make your funnylooking characters jump towards the ball and, once. Creighton university physics professor gintaras duda even says pro basketball players are instinctual physicists because of what it takes to make the perfect shot on the court, particularly the threepointer. Dissecting the physics of basketball bank shots wired.
Basketball may not look like a sport for scientists, but researchers suggest that the makings of the perfect freethrow or threepoint shot may come largely down to physics. The different masses of the balls effects the weight of the pass, because of the gravity and the different masses. Nowadays, of them are part of the olympic games badminton, basketball, beach volley, footballsoccer, golf, handball. It is written from the perspective of a fan of the game and then through the eyes of a physicist. Coach bob has over 20 years of basketball coaching experience. It wants to stay in motion so the ball pushes into the ground when it hits, compressing the air inside. In this picture you can see that there are many forces acting on the basketball as it flies through the air. Running is probably the most important skill in basketball. Black mamba physics in basketball is fairly irrelevant. A little bit of physics and a lot of practice can make everyone a better shooter from the freethrow line. Ken zetie physics education fontanella writes with humor and. When a basketball player jumps in the air to make a shot he can appear to be suspended in midair during the high point of the jump. Players like dwyane wade pictured above, amare stoudemire, and lebron james have mastered the art of dunking, and dunk on a regular basis.
Newtons 3rd law as we learned back in physics 211 we understand fully that newtons 3rd law states that with every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Dunking is probably the most popular, famous, and exciting move that a player can perform. The physics of basketball introduction any child can pick up a basketball, bounce it a few times, and throw it at the hoop without realizing the complex physics he is involving himself in. Fontanella, a professor of physics at the us naval academy, a former high school and college basketball player, and a past coach for his childrens basketball teams.
The ball used in a game should have high air pressure, which is explained through the law of physics. Pdf the physics of an optimal basketball free throw semantic. Click download or read online button to get the physics of basketball book now. The physics of basketball free pdf, djvu, doc, epub. Normally, physics is a difficult subject but an introduction to the physics of sports does a fine job for the nonscience in all of us. Basketball shooting is a basic practice for players. The premise is that shots requiring the least energy are the easiest to control and thus have the greatest probability of success. Drain three pointers, slam dunk easily, and sink that buzz. There are a lot of physics happening when you shoot the basketball. The physics of a three point shot the university physics. Gravity acts on everything on the earth, pushing everything down. Physics of basketball, the american journal of physics. Launch basketballs as you try solve puzzles, collect stars, and make baskets.
By studying the physics behind a basketball shot, physicists can develop insight into the shooting conditions most likely to result in a successful shot, and therefore may help basketball players. However, a greater understanding of the sport can be gained by applying the principles of physics to these actions. Investigating the physics of basketball research paper. Jumping for the ball, or leaping for a slam dunk, the human body follows the same laws of projectile motion as do other objects. Note that the velocity of the basketball is v, because of the perfectly elastic \re ection of the ground. The physics of basketball basketball isn t as easy as people depict it to be. A physical model is developed, which suggests a pathway to determining the optimal release conditions for a basketball free throw. Physics of basketball hang time jumping is a major component in the physics behind basketball. It might help you find the best angle for your jump shot. A dunk happens in a game of basketball when a player slams the ball into the basket from above. When an object is thrown in the air it will spend a large percentage. Robert adair is the sterling professor of physics emeritus at reliable experimental data. A parabola is a special curved line used in math to represent points on a graph. The physics of passing a basketball by ashley aeschliman.
It is found that there is an optimum shooting angle which requires the smallest. Physics of basketball american association of physics teachers. Hence conclusions about the physics of baseball must depen on approximations and estimates. It should further be noted that female players use a slightly smaller basketball than the male. Physics is something heavy to deal with, even more when a ball and a basket come in the mix, so you better put on your baller clothes, step right onto the field and throw that ball in the air until you score. The article science tells all sports world specials, june 4 contained a discussion of the physics of basketball shooting, and. There are many aspects to the physics of basketball. To keep it bouncing, you need to apply energy which is why a lot of dribbling makes u tired.
The physics of basketball is a nonfiction book by john fontanella first published on november 15, 2006 that explores the scientific side of basketball. John fontanella has been a physics professor at the united states naval academy since 1971 and was a college basketball player for westminster. If it has high air pressure, it keeps the ball from bending when it slams against the court floor. The physics of basketball download ebook pdf, epub. Several applications of physical principles to the game of basketball are examined.
Ball sports have been part of human history for thousands of years 1. If a ball has a low air pressure, it will form to the floor and not bounce back up, because it has less air molecules to bounce off the ground with. Introduction a great american pastime, basketball raises many interesting questions for the curious physicist. Passing is the fastest way to get the ball down the court into the opponents end. Now, let us choose \upward to be the positive direction for the.
Research 1 by engineers at north carolina state university examined millions of basketball shots to examine the common factors of a successful shot from the freethrow line. The physics of basketball takes the game to a whole new level. The engineers used a mens basketball for the study. What i mean is that the physics in basketball is a product of a persons memory. It originally started off as a game played by children in a physical education class.
Indeed, for baseball, some of the best data are derived from the game itself. Basketball physics is a funaddicting, one button, 2 player basketball game by. At the bottom of the page, youll be able to learn even more tips. The free throw is the single most important shot in the game of basketball, as close to twenty per. The kinematics of the ball movement are modelled and simulated for the free throw, for the direct shot, and for the bank shot off the backboard the layup. Below youll find some commonlyasked questions about the physics of free throw shooting. If you have a greater acceleration than the ball, you will not have control of the ball. Although it is hard to expect that a basketball player who steps up to shoot a free throw would think about optimal ball release conditions, knowing. On this page, i will show you how kinematics, forces, and energy relate to passing a basketball. Does a knowledge of physics help to improve ones basketball skills. Physics of basketball posted on december, 2012 by i remember being a kid and watching old highlights of larry bird wondering to myself how the heck he was such a consistent shooter.
The same is applied to the physics behind the basketball shot. The man exhibited an overwhelming amount of confidence out on the basketball court. The kinematics of a basketball shot is studied, and criteria are established for determining the best shooting angle at any given distance from the basket. When you are shooting a jump shot, you mainly want. Instead the physics in basketball is simply interesting to people who really try to break down the art of shooting, passing, and dribbling. The principles include projectile motion and gravity, moment of forces and stability, momentum and collision and viscous drag. Rotation for arc and range basketball shooting physics duration. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. As you can see in figure 1 to the right, you can see just how newtons 3rd law works. When the ball reaches the ground and bounces back up it is an inelastic collision which means that energy is lost. This is because as a basketball player, you need be able to tun without and with the basketball while keeping it under control. Bill ingram, executive editor, basketball news services an unusual book, certain to attract both the sports fan and the armchair scientist. Figuring the physics of basketball can studying the laws of physics help you be a better basketball player.
Passing is a very important element in the game of basketball. Drain three pointers, slam dunk easily, and sink that buzzer beater from half court with the help of simple science. Shoot basketballs out of your cannon as you try to get at least one ball into each basket. How can the physics of dribbling a basketball be explained.
The physics aspect of shooting a free throw involves distance and deviation. The physics of basketball johns hopkins university press. They would throw a soccer ball into a peach basket while another person tried to deflect it. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. A rationale and geometric parameters for optimal basketball shooting are provided. This book describes the physics of baseball and softball, assuming that the reader has a background in both physics and mathematics at the high school level.
The physics of freethrow shooting secrets of shooting. Newtons 2nd law citations friction wmg and fma there are two different size balls. Investigating the physics of basketball introduction this paper explores specific principles of physics that find application in basketball. The path of the ball from the players to the hoop is projectile motion. Essentially, this tells us that the ball is only being controlled by its environment. By studying the physics behind a basketball shot, physicists can develop insight into the shooting conditions most likely to result in a successful shot, and therefore may help basketball. The physics is explained in a conversational style, and illustrated with experimental results obtained both in the laboratory and in the field. Basketball shooting strategies the free throw, direct. According to the first law, the basketball is always moving in one direction, unless acted on by another force. Basketball physics is a one button funny jump basketball game.