Skip to main content

Physics of Lacrosse

Although physics is a prominent aspect in every sport, the physics of lacrosse identifies many different branches and topics relating to physics. As a lacrosse player, it is easy to see how physics affects the constant motion of the game.

First, lacrosse tests and accurately portrays Newton's first, second, and third laws.

Newton's first law states - An object at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by an external force.
In the game of lacrosse, it is important to cradle your stick in order to keep the ball in the net of your stick. Essentially, cradling your stick causes a centripetal force to act on ball as it is being cradled, which keeps it in the net as the stick is being rotated. As the player prepares to throw the ball, the centripetal force continues to act on the ball as the player throws it, and the ball's friction against the net keeps the ball in the pocket while the stick accelerates around.

 (below image shows the technical terms for each part of the head of the lacrosse stick)
Image result for images of a girl's lax stick with head terms

Newton's second law states - F=ma. Through this formula, it can be said that the acceleration applied to the ball during the throw determines the force of the pass, because the mass remains constant.

Newton's third law states - For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When swinging the stick to release the ball, the stretch in the netted pocket and the motion of the ball counteracts the force put into the swinging stick. Because there is work being applies to the stick, the ball is forced forward as a result.

 Furthermore, the draw (similar to a jump ball in a basketball game) portrays an important aspect of a physics concept. In the draw, equal force must be applied by both players in order to make the ball go up. If more force is applied by one player, than they will have more control of the ball and where it goes when it is released. The concept of the draw is difficult, and mastering the draw is even more complex. Below is an attached video of the concept of the draw in girl's lacrosse.

 

Analyzing torque: Passing a lacrosse ball is in fact a technical engagement. When preparing to pass the ball, you arm must remain level to build the appropriate throwing motion. In order to properly release the ball to the destined target, you must bull the stick backward with your bottom hand and push it forward with the upper hand. This motion is tricky, but with practice, you will create a level arm that will direct the ball to the desired target. By pivoting the stick through your upper hand, force is created in both the upper and lower hands, and large torque forces are generated which will allow the ball to be thrown at great distances. 

The video below explains the concepts of converting linear momentum into rotational momentum when winding up to shoot a lacrosse ball. When shooting the ball from a far distance away from the net, it is important to maintain the proper body angle to ensure the quickness of the ball's release time and accuracy on net. The farther an object is from its axis of rotation, the faster its linear speed.





Works Cited:

 https://prezi.com/tyyecv-pwc-s/physics-of-lacrosse/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhfw5R2U5mE
https://www.livestrong.com/article/487887-the-physics-behind-throwing-a-lacrosse-ball/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Physics of Black Holes...Or Lack Thereof

Isabella Jacavone To comprehend how the universe works, we must dwell into the most basic building blocks of existence; matter, energy, space, and time. NASA's  Physics of the Cosmos program involves cosmology, astrophysics, and fundamental physics intended to answer questions about the elusiveness of complex concepts such as black holes, neutron stars, dark energy, and gravitational waves. In this blog post, I'd like to elaborate on a subject that is very intriguing  to me; Black holes. And more specifically, what would happen if we got near one. A black hole is anything but a hole, but rather an immense amount of matter compacted into an extremely small area. A black hole is caused when, hypothetically, a star four times more massive than our sun collapses into a sphere no bigger than 600 square km. To put that in perspective, that's about the size of New York City. B lack holes were predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, which showed that when a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation Sound dampening foam panels in a recording studio. ANC headphones worn by pilots and/or passengers in consumer aviation aircraft.  Acoustic treatment of soundscapes has grown alongside the sound production industry. Whether through absorption panels, diffusors and cloud panels to treat a space or headphones placed directly over the ears of listeners, acoustic treatment comes in many forms. Environments are treated acoustically to absorb excess sound to prevent sound levels from crossing a threshold above which the desired goal cannot be had. Before getting into sound dampening, we must discuss sound. Sound is produced when an object vibrates (a form of oscillation) and temporarily displaces nearby air molecules causing a wave effect as the displaced molecules collide with their neighboring molecules. Sound waves are fluctuations in pressure as the initial displacement of molecules experiences collisions that in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Physics Behind the Rail Gun

Magnets and Magnetic Fields: Magnets are well known for their ability to repel and attract other magnets and various pieces of metal, but what people seldom understand are the physics at work that cause such occurrences. Magnets are everywhere, from within TV's and cellphones, to the Earth itself, and they are all producing magnetic fields. For a particle, a magnetic field can be defined to be "a vector quantity that is directed along the zero- force axis" with a magnitude equal to the dividend of the magnetic force and the product of the particle's charge and speed, and for a bar magnet, the field is best demonstrated as arcs going from one pole to the other. With that said, magnetic fields can also be created; the basic principle of electromagnetism is that the movement of electrons through a conductor produces a magnetic field in the region around the conductor. This is the fundamental principle behind the workings of the rail gun. Unlike a bar magnet, a ...
Post a Comment
Read more