Johannesburg, June 10 (ANI): Science has offered an explanation of how a soccer ball 'curls' and changes direction after it is kicked.
"The physics of soccer balls is complex and varies with each type of ball. We've already heard negative reports about Jabulani, despite being one of the most perfect footballs ever produced!" News24 quoted Dr Tony Kirkbride of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), as saying.
He added: "The arc is a function of ball geometry, weight, air temperature and viscosity, as well as velocity, position and direction of impact, not to mention skill of the player in bringing all these variables together for the perfect delivery."
According to the website Soccerballworld.com: "The air travels faster relative to the centre of the ball where the periphery of the ball is moving in the same direction as the airflow. This reduces the pressure, according to Bernouilli's principle. The opposite effect happens on the other side of the ball, where the air travels slower relative to the centre of the ball.
"There is therefore an imbalance in the forces and the ball deflects - or, as Sir JJ Thomson put it in 1910, 'the ball follows its nose'. This lateral deflection of a ball in flight is generally known as the 'Magnus effect'." (ANI)
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