World Cup Science

By Alexa

All eyes are on the excitement in South Africa as 32 nations vied for the grandest prize in soccer, the World Cup. The U.S. team fought hard in Saturday’s overtime match against Ghana but the game ended in an unfortunate loss for the U.S.

Nonetheless, watching the remaining games will be exciting—and educational! Some articles explained how what is happening off the field can affect what’s happening on the field.  Here’s how science plays a part in the action on the field, in the stands and in your living room.

Every soccer game, from the ones played in your back yard all the way to the World Cup final, begins and ends with one thing – the ball. But not all balls are created equal! Over the years, the ball has gone from a 32-panel black and white sphere to this year’s 12-panel ball. The number of panels makes contact with the ball easier on the foot and the flight of the ball more predictable. The ball was also constructed on a 3-D spherical surface rather than the panels being formed on a flat surface and bended into shape.  According to Adidas, this produces a truer sphere-shaped ball, increasing the accuracy and speed while the ball is in the air.  The Jabulani soccer ball is designed to please strikers and goalkeepers alike.

However, players and goalkeepers in the tournament have been complaining that the ball is quite the opposite: less accurate and more difficult to handle. Lynne Cramer, the Maryland Science Center’s Senior Science Specialist, offers a brief explanation.  “When the balls are moving through the air, they are nearly always spinning, and the rate of spin can make them behave in many ways. Also, the ball is not a perfect sphere. It has small ridges where there are seams in the leather. These ridges can affect the spin, the air flow around the ball, and the way it bounces when it hits the ground.”

This year you might see the players running faster and sweating less.  Of course, the fact that it’s winter in South Africa might have a little something to do with the sweat factor.  However, athletes who are seemingly less sweaty on the field might actually be helped by their uniforms.  Adidas and Nike, makers of star athletes’ uniforms, have developed new technology to make the World Cup uniforms lighter and thus keep players cooler.  Not to mention, the light-weight materials and added compression fabrics allow players to run faster and jump higher. There has been some controversy since not all World Cup teams can afford these uniforms and have a disadvantage when playing against teams sporting the new outfits.  This article explains how the fabric used in the uniforms can highlight certain muscles and enhance the use of such muscles to improve play.

As you watch many of the games, you’ll notice that when announcers shout “GOOOOOAL!!,” it just doesn’t seem as loud as it used to.  You can thank the vuvuzela horn, the local noisemaker, for this interruption. The sound of the horn registers about 127dB—that’s louder than a chainsaw! There is potential danger to hearing if fans (or players!) are exposed to a sound that loud too often. The vuvuzela has also caused controversy among angry fans who cannot hear the broadcast, and even players say they are distracted by the sounds. Certain broadcasters are working on sound filters to block out the noise.  The trouble is that the sound falls around the same tone as speech tones, making it difficult to filter.