What Is the Relationship Between Sports & Physics?

A little-considered aspect of sports is the relationship it has with physics. The reality, though, is that sports and physics are intimately connected. This is because every sport depends on an athlete's ability to exert force. Whether it's taking off from a starting block in a sprint, delivering a knockout punch or hitting a baseball with a bat, an athlete uses force. Force is one of the key points in the study of physics, so this relationship is symbiotic.

  1. Momentum

    • An object's momentum is a product of its mass and velocity. The faster or bigger it is, the more momentum it can deliver; a balled-up piece of paper needs to move much faster than a baseball in order to generate the same amount of momentum. The relationship between sports and momentum is that momentum never goes anywhere. Rather, it is just transferred. So, when you kick a soccer ball, you are transferring momentum to that soccer ball. The faster you can move your foot or the heavier your foot is (or both), the further the ball will go because you generated more momentum.

    Aerodynamics

    • Aerodynamics is a physics term that describes an object's ability to overcome air resistance. A football, for example, overcomes more air resistance than a baseball when thrown correctly because of its unique shape -- the football "cuts" through the air rather than smashing into it. Aerodynamics' relationship with speed means it has a relationship with almost every sport. Running with proper form, for example, allows you to overcome aerodynamics by situating your body correctly. This will allow you to run faster than someone at an equal or greater fitness level but without proper running form.

    Force

    • Force is similar to momentum, but it is a product of mass and acceleration rather than being a product of mass and velocity. So, a football player who weighs 300 pounds and is capable of producing a large amount of acceleration will be able to produce more force than a football player who weighs the same amount but cannot accelerate as quickly. This illustrates the relationship between muscle and fat. If someone weighs 300 pounds, 90 pounds of which are fat, then he will not be able to produce as much force as someone who weighs 220 pounds, 5 pounds of which are fat. This is because acceleration comes from muscle, not fat; the fat is only providing half of the equation.

    Friction

    • A key physical principle is the fact that an object will not stop moving until something stops it. Friction plays a key role in stopping objects because it creates constant resistance on objects such as balls rolling along a field, people running down fields and ice skates against ice. In every sport, friction represents a stopping force that needs to be overcome; the better you can overcome this force, the better your chances are at success in your sport.