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trick is to kick about two inches below the ball’s midline on the ball’s right side. This foot placement gives the ball loft as well as a wicked counterclockwise spin around the ball’s vertical axis. If you kick it correctly, you should feel the force in the big knobby bone of your big toe (called the first metatarsal).

Air moves over the ball as it is in flight. There is air moving counterclockwise, or with the spin, and air moving clockwise, flowing against the ball. For the air moving with the spin, a thin layer of turbulence creates drag on the air to deflect the air back behind itself. Newton’s Third Law dictates that this air will deflect the ball in the opposite direction but with equal force, and that creates the bend.

To score an Olympic goal, this player would have to curve the ball directly into the net off this corner kick.

The Magnus effect applies to other sports like golf and baseball, but it can also apply to much bigger objects. For instance, did you know that the Magnus effect is used to propel sea tankers? Amazingly, these ships have ten-story-tall metal cylinders that spin to create the Magnus effect to move the ship forward. Ball Surface If you’ve looked at a soccer ball up close, you know it is traditionally designed from hexagonal-shaped panels that are stitched together. Why are soccer balls built this way? Wouldn’t it be easier to have a ball with a smooth surface?

CHAPTER 1 : FORCES THAT ACT ON A SOCCER BALL

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