Customer Reviews

Why a Curveball Curves: The Incredible Science of Sports (Popular Mechanics)

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4 star:		(3)
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As a kid, I was never a big science fan . . . I've now become
more interested in the subject and you will, too, if you
read WHY A CURVEBALL CURVES--edited by Frank Vizard.

This book is a collection of articles from POPULAR MECHANICS
by such contributors as Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella,
Olympic swimming coach Bob Bowman and Buzz "The Shot
Doctor" Graman . . . you'll learn how certain hockey
players achieve greater speed on the ice, why swimming is
all about reducing drag and even what Babe Ruth had to say
about the mechanics of his home-run swing:

* Coordination, that is perfect timing and harmony of action, is a great
essential. You have got to develop rhythm and full utility of every
muscle. My whole body goes with every swing. I swing right from the
hips. And those who have seen me take a healthy sock at the ball know
what I mean. With that coordination there is the fact that I assume that
strength is behind it.

Whatever your favorite sport is, you'll probably find it covered
in this book . . . baseball, basketball, bowling, boxing, cycling,
football, golf, hockey, running, skiing, soccer, swimming and
diving, and tennis all get covered in separate chapters, often
accompanied by memorable photos.

I often found out some surprising information; e.g., about the
importance of the follow-through in golf:

* Irrelevant. In truth, a golfer could release the club from his hands
the moment after impact and it would make no difference--except,
of course, to your playing partners, who might not appreciate
having your eight-iron embedded between their shoulder
blades. Still, a full release of your arms and torso, leading to a classic
pose, with your belly button pointed to the target and your hands high
above your front ear? Well, that always looks nice for the cameras.

And then there was this passage about hockey's Wayne Gretzy
that ended with one of my all-time favorite sports quotations:

* By his own admission, Gretzky, who played most famously with the
Edmonton Oilers as well as several other teams during the 1980s and 1990s,
was not the strongest or fastest or most agile player on the ice even though
he was named MVP of the National Hockey League nine times. What
Gretzky did have was an ability that amounted to being able to see into
the future and visualize what was going to happen in the next few seconds.
In an article appearing in WIRED magazine, scientists working for the U. S.
Olympic team and the Australian Institute of Sport concluded that skills
like Gretzky's come from an innate ability to intuitively translate physical
cues dropped by opponents that are not apparent to most other athletes.
Scientists are at work figuring out how this skill can be taught, but this type
of perceptual training is still in its infancy. On the other hand, Gretzky may
have just been following his father's advice, given to him when he was
a youngster: "Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it
has been."

Methinks that's great advice for any sport . . . unfortunately,
putting it into practice was never quite that simple--or at least not
for me.

This book approaches sports from a scientific viewpoint, but is free of mathematical calculations. Owing to its breadth, I will only focus on a few items--mostly those not mentioned by previous reviewers.

For a long time, lactic acid buildup in the muscles was interpreted as evidence of shortage of oxygen in the muscle. It turns out that lactic acid is produced by the body as a fuel for metabolism. (p. 20).

A hit in baseball can impose over 4,000 pounds of force, over a split second, on the ball. A graph (p. 42) indicates that a swing speed (of the bat) at 20 mph results in a speed of the batted ball of 63 mph. Other combinations include (30, 73), (40, 83), and (50, 93).

The chapter on boxing makes it clear how the knockout takes place. The skull experiences a sudden acceleration, and the brain within the skull accelerates separately, temporarily stunning it and causing disorientation or unconsciousness.

The discussion of hockey has fascinating information. Did you realize, for instance, that were it not for the boundaries of the rink, a puck shot at 100 mph would slide nearly 1.2 miles before coming to a stop, doing so in 2 hours and 15 minutes? (p. 158).

The chapter on soccer discusses the Magnus Effect on the kicked soccer ball. A slightly off-center kick imposes a spin on the ball. This spin interacts with the airflow around the ball, causing a slight deceleration on one side of the ball. This, in turn, produces a new force--one that causes the ball to spin. Another change in the ball's motion occurs when the airflow around the soccer ball changes from turbulent to laminar flow as it slows down. The drag on the ball suddenly increases, and the ball suddenly dips in its trajectory. A ball seemingly trending well above the goal suddenly dips into the upper part of the net.

Do impacts of soccer balls with the head lead to concussions? The authors cite a study that indicates that this is unlikely.

One unique feature of this book is an atlas of major types of soccer balls since 1970. Each photo of the soccer ball comes with a paragraph of explanation. (pp. 185-187).

The chapter on swimming has a fascinating discussion on frictional drag on the swimmer. It turns out that the effect is significantly greater than previously supposed.

The book is user-friendly. It has numerous attractive drawings and photos.

This book was so interesting that I couldn't put it down- read it in less than two hours. It explains some of the science behind sports, not just baseball, but football, bowling, golf, basketball, and more. It is not too technical, so the average joe can understand it.

I bought this for my husband and he loves it. He is active in several sports and refers to this as "the book" now. He is a thinker and likes to know the "whys" of things. This book is right up his alley.

Not only was the book everything I wanted it to be and more, the speed at which it was delivered was impressive too.

This is an interesting book. A little bit less in detail than I was expecting,...but not much less. I've rated it 4 of 5 stars as I believe that when 5 equals the 'best you can get'...this book is NOT that. It's good. You'll like it. The price is fair. I bought three copies,...to give to our sons and son-in-law... all of whom are immersed in sports. I scanned through one of them before we wrapped them in advance of Christmas. The information regarding the physics of sports is fascinating and meant to be presented as reference material. If you've got a curious mind regarding the subject material, you'll like this book.
DP

This was purchased as a gift for a family member who is interested in all phases of baseball. He really liked it.