Maths in sport #1

An interesting lunchtime lecture at the Museum of London yesterday by Prof. John D. Barrow gave a whistle-stop tour of some miscellaneous uses of physics and mathematics in sport, including, inter alia:

* Why Bradley Wiggins uses solid disc wheels at the velodrome (a lower moment of inertia means it’s easier to accelerate).
* Why the classic alternating configuration of oarsmen in a rowing crew may be sub-optimal and results in an unwanted lateral wiggle (albeit usually imperceptible to the onlooker).
* Why, somewhat unexpectedly, the optimal launch angle for the shot-put is a little less than the 45° learnt for classical projectile motion in A-Level mechanics (even if the effect of air resistance is discounted).
* Why the old ice skating ranking scoring system led to perverse results.

QoS will be looking to provide some maths-in-sports related gubbins of its own in due course.

Comments

[wim]

"oscillating non-zero transverse moment" - superb.

[Charles le Roi]

googling lateral wiggle sure does provide some interesting results...

ps. lovin the mathematics dupin, keep it comin.