The Physics Of Basketball
The Physics of Basketball
Brittney LeBlanc
Physics 122
Physics comes into play throughout our lives, in absolutely everything we do, especially in sports such as basketball. Although you do not need to be a physician to become a basketball player, if you understand the basic physics of basketball, it can be very beneficial to your game. Specifically, understanding the physics behind shooting, passing, and dribbling the basketball.
A Canadian named, Dr. James Naismith, was instructed to create an indoor sport in 1891, for the long winter months in New England. He did so, while he conducted a physical education class at the international YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. His creation resulted in what we now call basketball. The very first basketball game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets that were nailed 10-feet high and played on a court just half the size of a present-day court. The baskets kept their bottoms so balls scored into the basket had to be poked out each time. Also, dribbling was not part of the original game. There were also originally only 13 rules, which consisted of how you could throw the ball, how to accumulate points, and what not to do. Over the years this sport has changed and advanced in many different ways, from the equipment used, to the rules of the game.
There are three laws of motion, which were formulated by Sir Isaac Newton, that all apply to basketball in very big ways. Newton’s first law states that objects in motion will stay in motion; that is, without any interference of a force acting upon it in a different direction. Newton 's second law states that acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass, resulting in the equation F = ma. This equation translated into words is force (kilogram meters per second per second, which is also known as Newton’s) equals mass (kilograms) multiplied by acceleration (meters per second per second). Newton’s third law states that every action has an
Brittney LeBlanc
Physics 122
Physics comes into play throughout our lives, in absolutely everything we do, especially in sports such as basketball. Although you do not need to be a physician to become a basketball player, if you understand the basic physics of basketball, it can be very beneficial to your game. Specifically, understanding the physics behind shooting, passing, and dribbling the basketball.
A Canadian named, Dr. James Naismith, was instructed to create an indoor sport in 1891, for the long winter months in New England. He did so, while he conducted a physical education class at the international YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. His creation resulted in what we now call basketball. The very first basketball game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets that were nailed 10-feet high and played on a court just half the size of a present-day court. The baskets kept their bottoms so balls scored into the basket had to be poked out each time. Also, dribbling was not part of the original game. There were also originally only 13 rules, which consisted of how you could throw the ball, how to accumulate points, and what not to do. Over the years this sport has changed and advanced in many different ways, from the equipment used, to the rules of the game.
There are three laws of motion, which were formulated by Sir Isaac Newton, that all apply to basketball in very big ways. Newton’s first law states that objects in motion will stay in motion; that is, without any interference of a force acting upon it in a different direction. Newton 's second law states that acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass, resulting in the equation F = ma. This equation translated into words is force (kilogram meters per second per second, which is also known as Newton’s) equals mass (kilograms) multiplied by acceleration (meters per second per second). Newton’s third law states that every action has an
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