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Article: Trick kick: scientists discover how to bend a soccer ball the way superstar David Beckham does.(Physical)
- Article from:
- Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- August 29, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE GAME IS TIED, with mere minutes to go, when a player on the opposing team commits a foul. You step up to take a free kick at the net, which is blocked by the goaltender and a wall of defenders. All eyes are on you as you gaze down at the soccer ball and murmur, "I wish I could bend it like Beckham!"
An international team of scientists recently wished the same thing. So they analyzed what happens when soccer superstar David Beckham makes a ball swerve and then dip, miraculously changing trajectory in midair. Trajectory is the curved flight path of a flying object. By studying Beckham's famous "bend," the scientists hoped to improve both soccer-ball design and ...