Physics of Pinball
Pinball is a fast pace game of physics and skill. With the knowledge of the mechanics and the physics of how the game works it can be played more effectively. Friction, gravity, potential energy, kinetic energy, circuits and momentum are just a few of the aspects of physics apply.
The first thing to do to start a game of pinball is to insert the coin. This alone requires many fundamental aspects of physics. The player inserts the coin and lets gravity take over. Gravity accelerates the coin to a certain speed in a specific direction or what is called velocity. The coin, which has mass, is now moving at a certain velocity. The coin now has linear momentum. To find the momentum of the coin we would take the
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The player has now compressed the spring in the ball shooter. The ball sitting in the ball shooter is at rest. It will be at rest until acted on by an unbalanced force. This is Newton’s first law of motion, the law of inertia (Kirkpatrick and Wheeler p31). The ball shooter is then released the spring decompresses and strikes the ball sending it up the incline to the top of the pinball playing field. The strike on the ball is called the impulse. The time interval it takes for the ball momentum to change. Since the ball has no momentum because it has zero velocity the ball shooter transfers its momentum at the impulse (The Ball Shooter 2003). This also takes place in the time frame of about a second.
The ball now has kinetic energy. Kinetic energy like momentum in that it comes from the mass of the object and its velocity. Kinetic energy was transferred from the plunger to the ball just like momentum was but only if the collision was elastic. During and elastic collision kinetic energy is conserved. The balls kinetic energy is half of its momentum squared. This means the balls momentum is its mass multiplied by velocity, and then it is squared and divided by two. If the velocity or speed of the ball is reduced by one half then the overall kinetic energy is reduced by a factor of four (Kirkpatrick and Wheeler p.106)
The ball uses this kinetic energy to move up the usually 6 to 7 degree incline to the top of the playing field. The kinetic
The balls velocity and speed is increased significantly in a very brief period, right before the full extension of the elbow.
Once accomplishing the motion of your hips, a player must focus on the next link in the chain, pulling the stick away from his body, preparing to move forward (accelerate) with a shot. A goalie uses his or her angle of perception to watch the ball and to make a save. The intent is to hide the head of the stick behind the player’s body to decrease the visibility of the ball to the goalie. The more a shooter hides the head of the stick the less likely the goalie with stop the ball from accelerating into the back of the net. When the act of pulling the stick takes place, a shift in weight occurs. “This shift in balance enables the player to release the ball while allowing his hips and back to recoil and urge the shoot motion in a forward direction. This forward acceleration causes an increase in the player’s velocity, zero to forward” (Russo, 1). Depending on the magnitude of your acceleration depends on how “hard or fast” the player pushes off the ground with their foot allowing them to make the initial forward progress. Without the push off the ground, no forward movement would be possible.
The fastest growing sport in America is lacrosse, and in order to play lacrosse, it is important to first understand the physics of the game. Lacrosse players around the world use physics while playing without even thinking about it. With no knowledge of physics, it would be pretty difficult to master the fastest game on two feet. One of the worlds greatest scientist, Isaac Newton, established three laws dealing with physics, and using these laws will make it possible for a lacrosse player to understand what he or she needs to do in order to throw a ball. Newtons first law deals with inertia, his second law deals with the relationship between mass, acceleration and force, and his third law deals with opposite reactions. When talking about lacrosse, it is essential to cover Newton’s first law, his second law, and his third law in order to understand the physics behind throwing a lacrosse ball. .
Momentum is the mass of an object times it’s velocity. The velocity of an object would be it’s rate and change of direction. A collision occurs when two or more objects collide with each other. This causes the kinetic energy, the energy of motion, to be transferred
The motion of the ball through the air depends on the relative strength and direction of the forces. We will look at the pitching of a curve ball. The curve ball problem involves all three forces with an additional force called the Magnus force. This force is a lift force generated from the spinning of the baseball produces the side force that causes the ball to
For Newton's first law of motion which states that "every object remains at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force" is seen in both pitching and hitting. When the game is on going pitchers wait for a signal from the catcher before throwing. While they are waiting they hold the baseball in their glove or hand before throwing. Once they receive the signal they windup their arm and send the ball into motion down to home base. Pitchers uses Newton's first law of motion in order to throw fastballs, sliders, and curve balls. When you are up at bat you wait until the pitcher sets the ball in motion. Once the ball is in motion the hitter sets the bat in motion by swinging at the
back in a smooth motion and using force to release the ball (science has proven that force
By a show of hands, how many people on hear have ever seen professional bowling on TV? Were you curious about how they about how they were able to make the ball react down the lane? If yes, you are one of many. Today I will explain how to manipulate your ball so that it reacts. To somebody who is unfamiliar with the specifics of the sport, it can be difficult to comprehend all the parts of this seemingly simple idea of rolling a ball. These parts can be broken down into three steps. These steps are, the set up, the approach, and the release.
An elastic collision is a collision in which kinetic energy is conserved, such as when a running back is hit so hard by the opposing team’s linebacker on a lead-draw play up the middle that the ball is forced out of his arms. The fumbled ball then hits the turf and because of the elasticity of the collision it bounces back up. Unlike an elastic collision, an inelastic collision does not conserve the kinetic energy of the colliding objects (Kirkpatrick & Wheeler 134). An example of an inelastic collision might be when a player catches the ball (if he catches the ball) and the momentum of the ball is completely stopped. However it is important to realize in this study of physics that a
In the game of baseball Newton's Laws play big roles in it. The first law I will describe is called the Law of Inertia. Inertia plays a huge role in baseball when the player up to hit is up to the plate, the pitcher throws the ball and the hitter has to do a series of things before he or she can actually hit the ball. He/she has to move their legs, upper body and arms in order to have contact with the ball. The players legs, upper body and arms act upon the bat if it did not the bat would have remained in the same spot. Another law that plays a role in baseball is the Law of Acceleration. Acceleration plays a role in baseball because again when a player is up to bat, in order to be able to move their body so that they can swing the bat they
In this experiment the egg did not break. When I threw it at the sheet the egg was absorbed and deflected. The egg did not break because it flew into a flexible sheet that was not a hard, flat surfaace. If we look exclusively at the momentum of the egg, we would find that the foward momentum was mostly distubuted into the sheet. Because of the lost of momentum, the egg simply rolled down the sheet, unscathed. Had we thrown the egg (or something that would not break like a baseball) at an elastic trampoline-like suface then the momentum would have been reciprocated in the backwards direction because of the surface’s elastisity. The change in momentum of an object equals the impulse applied to it.
Another basic element of basketball is that of passing the ball to another teammate. The physics involved in this process are velocity, momentum, and impulse. The ball has a mass and when it is thrown a velocity of the ball in created. From these two parts momentum is derived, P=mv (Kirkpatrick Wheeler 106). While playing basketball it may be to your advantage to increase or decrease the momentum of the ball when passing to a teammate depending upon the situation.
This soccer science fair project serves to acquaint students with basic information on how the amount of air in a soccer ball can affect the distance it travels when kicked with a consistent force. The greater the air pressure in the ball, the farther it will travel when a force is applied. In the process of conducting the research, the student will learn that atmospheric pressure may also affect how far the ball will travel. The student will learn about the relationship between air pressure and friction: the lower the friction, the farther the ball will go. The student will learn about concepts like air pressure, gravitational force, compression and expansion of air molecules, potential energy and kinetic energy. This science fair experiment
In conclusion a basketball may look sample but it’s is very complex and can be very hard to manage. This project will prove for once and for all if basketballs bounce higher with or without helium. “Kinetic energy is a property of a moving object or particle and depends not only on its motion but also on its mass.” stated britannica editor Erik Gregerson. (2015,[online])
Soccer is a sport that’s very challenging and during the course of this semester I’ve found physics can also be described as challenging. As far as I was concerned soccer and physics were both challenging and that was all they had in common, consequently upon researching them both this semester I found that I was wrong. For me this was nothing new because I’ve found that physics isn’t a subject that can be skimmed, but rather it has to be studied to the finest detail. Those small details if missed can make all your efforts worthless. Or on the positive side understanding those details can make your efforts worth it in the end. And in soccer if you understand the physics, which to most players