As a golf ball travels through the air, wind resistance creates drag, which slows the ball down. The dimples on a golf ball reduce the drag of the air making it possible for the ball to go faster and farther. At the USGA Test Center, scientists created a 70-foot-long tunnel to test golf balls.
Why do golf balls have dimples physics?
Dimples on a golf ball create a thin turbulent boundary layer of air that clings to the ball’s surface. This allows the smoothly flowing air to follow the ball’s surface a little farther around the back side of the ball, thereby decreasing the size of the wake.
What makes a golf ball bounce high?
When the ball hits the ground, all that kinetic energy has to go somewhere. A lot of it goes back into the ball, giving it more force to pop back up into the air—so the higher the potential energy, the higher the kinetic energy, and the higher the kinetic energy, the higher the bounce!
The physics of golf is a detailed subject. It involves forces and aerodynamics, occurring during the hitting of the ball, during its flight through the air, during the run of the ball (after landing), and during the putt. Golfers often put much effort into perfecting their golf game.
What forces are acting on a golf ball?
This relates to “Why doesn’t your ball fall off the tee?” Balanced forces of gravity downward and upward force of the ball itself allows the ball to remain balanced on your tee. Second Law: Force equals mass times acceleration (f=ma). When a golf club carries an unbalanced force it carries a change in velocity.
What happens when you remove the dimples from a golf ball?
Four pros found out. Alter the depth of a dimple by as little as 1,000th of an inch and you could negatively affect the ball’s aerodynamics (lift and drag) while it’s rocketing through the air. … In this case, the line between success and failure is razor-thin.
Why is a golf ball rough on its surface?
Rough balls fly through the air more easily than smooth ones. As air flows around a smooth ball, it breaks away from the surface, forming a pocket of swirling currents at the back, like the wake behind a speedboat. This wake creates “drag” on the ball, slowing it down.
Why do they yell fore in golf?
“Fore!”, originally a Scots interjection, is used to warn anyone standing or moving in the flight of a golf ball. … These caddies were often warned about oncoming golf balls by a shout of the term “fore-caddie” which was eventually shortened to just “fore!”.
Where does the energy of a bouncing ball go?
The air in the ball acts like a spring—it gets compressed and expands again. During the collision, some of the ball’s energy is converted into heat. As a consequence, the ball shoots up with less energy than it had when it reached Earth.
Do golf balls bounce only on concrete?
If you drop a golf ball onto a hard surface like concrete, it bounces since the “hard vs. hard” collision between the ball and the surface compresses the ball a bit and it springs back. It is the golf ball that is compressing a little, not the concrete.
Why does a ball stop bouncing?
When the basketball hits the floor, some kinetic energy that the ball has is transferred into another form of energy. … This is because the basketball had an inelastic collision with the ground. After a few bounces, it stops bouncing completely. The energy has left the ball!
What are the 3 key physics concepts of the golf swing?
HICKS: Hitting a powerful drive takes more than just strength and coordination, it also requires three physics concepts: torque, centripetal force and something known as the double pendulum effect. JOHN SPITZER (Equipment Standards, USGA): What happens is you can use physics to allow the forces to do the work for you.
What happens when a golf club hits a golf ball?
It only becomes a ball in play once a stroke is made. When the practice swing accidentally hits the ball, you are considered to have not made a stroke. Thus, the golf rules simply allow you to re-tee the moved ball (or replace it with another one) without penalty.
How much force is a golf ball hit with?
During collision between the ball and driver, peak force applied to the ball can be as high as 4000 pounds. A swing of 110-mph can result in the ball going from rest to 150-mph in 0.0005 seconds. In fact, during certain stages of impact, the ball experiences more than 50,000-g’s of acceleration!