Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

NASA Experts Give Adidas World Cup Ball Design a Red Card

by Caleb Johnson on July 8, 2010 at 07:25 AM

Adidas Jabulani Ball
We aren't 'football' experts, but even we notice that the flight path of the Adidas Jabulani ball, the official ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is unpredictable to say the least. Nearly every kick seems to send the ball knuckling, slicing or hooking past the goal. Apparently, there's a scientific reason for its awkward trajectory. According to The Mirror, aerodynamics experts at NASA claim that the lightweight, 440-gram ball moves in unpredictable ways when it reaches speeds above 44 mph. Like we said, we're no experts, but it's safe to bet that many world-class soccer players can easily kick a ball faster than that. In addition to problems posed by its ultra-lightweight design, the fact that most of the South African stadiums hosting World Cup matches are built 1,000 meters above sea level apparently causes the Jabulani ball to act like it has a mind of its own.

Whew! We're glad there's an actual, scientific reason for soccer's being such a low-scoring sport. We just thought the game was designed to be boring. [Ed. Note: Your soccer-loving editor resents that.] [From: The Mirror, via: Engadget]

Tags: adidas, adidas jabulani, AdidasJabulani, aerodynamics, design, jabulani, NASA, Soccer, soccer ball, SoccerBall, sports, top, world cup, world cup 2010, WorldCup, WorldCup2010

Comments

1

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular