Tag Archives: ball

How New World Cup Ball Design Changes Could Impact Close Game Outcomes

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As the highly anticipated match between Mexico and South Africa kicked off, an audience of football fans, players from different teams, and a dedicated group of scientists from the USA, South Korea, and Japan watched intently, holding their breath.

For fans, the outcome was everything. For players, it was a matter of competition. However, for the scientists, the focus was entirely on the ball.

The opening match featured the Trionda – a football that underwent months of research and development.

Tradition Meets Innovation

Each World Cup brings a new ball introduced by FIFA, soccer’s governing body. This not only serves as a marketing strategy but also aims to enhance the experience for players, officials, and fans alike.

For instance, the Telstar, launched for the 1970 World Cup, was the first design featuring multi-colored panels, making it easier for viewers with black-and-white TVs to track its movements.

Telstar’s iconic 32-panel design paved the way for classic football aesthetics – Photo Credit: Getty

The Azteca, utilized in the 1986 World Cup, was the first ball made from synthetic materials, enhancing its water resistance and maintaining its weight and shape even in rain.

The Azteca was inspired by the host nation’s rich murals and architecture – Photo Credit: Getty

The Trionda, crafted for this year’s tournament, is arguably the most advanced football to date.

With fewer panels, a rougher texture, and a more cohesive structure compared to its predecessors, the Trionda also includes integrated sensors that transmit real-time data to video assistant referees.

Surprisingly, advancements in technology haven’t drastically altered Trionda’s behavior, which is vital, as noted by John Eric Goff, a physicist from the University of Puget Sound involved in the study of the ball.

“While I crave the marketing buzz and excitement that comes with a new ball, we must ensure that it doesn’t behave unpredictably for players,” Goff explains.

His study corroborates this, showing that while Trionda and its predecessors exhibit different designs, their functional performance remains consistent.

Trionda is poised to transform gameplay experiences at this year’s tournament.

All except one: the Jabulani.

The Jabulani, featured in the 2010 World Cup, gained notoriety for its unpredictable behavior on the pitch. “The Jabulani was excessively smooth, affecting its flight,” Goff notes.

In minimal spin situations, most balls have a predictable trajectory. However, the Jabulani often stalled mid-air, veering off course unexpectedly.

This erratic behavior had significant implications, especially during critical shots on goal, potentially altering the outcome of games and even the tournament itself.

The Jabulani’s unpredictable flight drew complaints from players and goalkeepers alike throughout the tournament – Photo Credit: Getty

The reason behind Jabulani’s instability lay in its aerodynamic properties. With only eight panels and minimal seams, air flowed over the ball’s surface with lesser resistance.

In the absence of spin, these seams created asymmetrical airflow, diverting the ball’s path unpredictably. “It was reminiscent of a beach ball,” Goff remarks.

Despite having only four panels, one would assume the Trionda could share the same fate. However, Goff assures that the longer, deeper, and wider seams in Trionda help maintain a predictable airflow around the ball, reducing turbulence.

The team employed advanced laser scanning techniques to assess the seams, discovering that while the added grooves and microtextures increase resistance, they also enhance overall control.

“This ball’s roughness will add slight resistance on high-speed shots, possibly reducing the distance on corner kicks and free kicks compared to previous World Cup balls,” Goff comments.

Exploring New Frontiers

This leads to an intriguing question: If maintaining consistency is paramount, why design new balls every four years?

What drives the substantial investment (reportedly 3.5 years in development for Trionda) and innovative efforts (with the ball retailing at £130/$170)? Why not simply use a tested ball?

Although Adidas, the official World Cup ball supplier since 1970, did not respond for comment, Goff offers a compelling explanation.

“The aspiration is to discover the perfect sphere. It’s a quest of curiosity: Can we achieve this? Much like the Space Race of the 1960s – the goal is enticing simply because it exists,” he reflects.

“Why aim to decrease the number of panels? Because it’s uncharted territory and a challenge worth pursuing. Let’s see what happens.”

Now that Trionda has made its debut, Goff and his team are eager to monitor its performance throughout the tournament, keen to compare their predictions with real-time action on the field.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Gemini North Telescope Explores the Mysteries of the Crystal Ball Nebula

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Stunning new images captured by the 8.1-meter Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, showcase the Crystal Ball Nebula in remarkable detail. This glowing, lumpy mass of gas is intricately shaped by a pair of stars.

This captivating image of the Crystal Ball Nebula was taken by the International Gemini Observatory’s 8.1 m Gemini North Telescope. Image credit: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez, International Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / TA Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / D. de Martin & M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.

The Crystal Ball Nebula, located approximately 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus—near the border of Perseus—is officially designated as NGC 1514.

Discovered on November 13, 1790, by the renowned German-British astronomer William Herschel, this nebula is a breathtaking example of celestial beauty.

Utilizing the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS), the latest images of the Crystal Ball Nebula were captured by the Gemini North Telescope, part of the International Gemini Observatory funded by the NSF and operated by NSF’s NOIRLab.

NOIRLab astronomers classify the Crystal Ball Nebula as a planetary nebula, a term first introduced by Herschel himself. He recognized the spherical shape of these objects in the 1700s, coining the term due to their resemblance to planets—despite the fact that they are entirely unrelated.

Planetary nebulae are formed when a low- or intermediate-mass star expels its outer layers towards the end of its life, creating a spherical gas cloud.

Unlike many planetary nebulae, which typically have smoother shapes, the Crystal Ball Nebula is characterized by its uniquely bumpy gas shells.

As the central star releases this gas, its inner core becomes exposed, with radiation from the core energizing the gas to scorching temperatures, resulting in a colorful glow. For instance, the Crystal Ball Nebula’s temperature is estimated to be around 15,000 K.

Herschel was captivated by the nebula’s dimly lit shell; before his discovery, he believed nebulae to be merely distant collections of stars.

The bright spot at the center of the gaseous shell contradicted this theory. Herschel noted, in 1791: ‘Our judgment, we may venture to say, and it will be, is that the nebula around this star is not of a stellar nature.’

He theorized that the light emanating from the Crystal Ball Nebula originated from a single star, rather than a group of distant stars.

Although the new images may depict a singular bright source at the center—similar to Herschel’s observations—the Crystal Ball Nebula actually harbors two stars.

These two stars form a binary pair that orbits each other with a period of approximately nine years, marking it as the longest known binary star pair within a planetary nebula, according to the astronomers.

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Mayan ball fields reveal presence of psychoactive and ceremonial plants, say researchers

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A research team led by University of Cincinnati archaeologists has found evidence of an assemblage of four species of ceremonial plants beneath the endfield of a late Preclassic ball field at the Helena complex in Mexico’s ancient Mayan city of Yaxnoca. Plants included Ipomoea corymbosa (xtabentun in Mayan), Capsicum sp. (chili pepper or ic in Mayan), Hampea Trilobata (Joel), and Oxandra lanceolata (Chilkahuit). Two of these plants, jor and Cirkawit, are involved in the production of ritually related crafts, while chili pepper and Stabentun are associated with divination rituals. Extaventun (known to the Aztecs as oloruqui) produces a highly effective hallucinogenic compound.

Map of the Helena complex showing excavation locations in relation to the baseball field structures (Structures H-4 to H-7). Image credit: Lenz other., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301497.

The ancient Mayans played several ball games, including pokatok, which had rules similar to soccer and basketball. Players tried to pass the ball through rings and hoops on the wall.

“The ancient Mayans likely made ceremonial offerings during the construction of their ball courts,” said University of Cincinnati professor David Lentz.

“When they built a new building, they asked for God’s goodness to protect the people living there.”

“Some people call this a soul-entering ritual to obtain blessings from the gods and appease them.”

From 2016 to 2022, Professor Lentz and colleagues worked in the ancient Mayan city of Yaxnoca, in the state of Campeche, about 14.5 kilometers (9 miles) north of the Guatemalan border.

They discovered 2,000-year-old Mayan ceremonial deposits beneath the early piazza floor of the civil ceremonial platform on which the ball court was built in Yaxnoca’s Helena complex.

“Just like with baseball stadiums, when a building was expanded or reused, the ancient Mayans made offerings to bless the site,” said Nicholas Dunning, a professor emeritus at the University of Cincinnati.

“Archaeologists sometimes find ceramics and jewelry among these offerings, along with culturally significant plants.”

“We’ve known for years from ethnohistorical sources that the Maya also used perishable materials in these offerings, but finding them archaeologically is nearly impossible and That’s what makes this discovery using eDNA so special.”

“In tropical climates, ancient plant remains are rarely found and quickly decompose.”

However, using environmental DNA, scientists were able to identify several types known for their ritual significance.

They found evidence of a morning glory called stabentun, known for its hallucinogenic properties, lancewood, chili pepper, and jowl, whose leaves were used to wrap ritual offerings.

“It’s significant that we found evidence that these plants exist together in the same small sediment sample,” said Dr. Eric Tepe, a botanist at the University of Cincinnati.

“The fact that these four plants, known to be culturally important to the Maya, were found in concentrated samples indicates that they were intentionally and purposefully collected under this platform. I think that says a lot.”

“Interpreting a botanical collection through the opaque lens of 2,000 years of prehistory is a challenge, but this discovery helps further deepen the story of this sophisticated culture,” Professor Lenz said.

The ancient Mayans devised water filtration systems and adopted forest practices with conservation in mind.

However, they were powerless against years of drought and are thought to have cleared vast areas of forest for agriculture.

“We see the yin and yang of human existence in the ancient Maya. To me, that’s why they’re so fascinating,” Professor Lentz said.

of findings It was published in the magazine PLoS ONE.

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DL Lenz other. 2024. Psychotropic drugs and other ceremonial plants unearthed from a 2,000-year-old Mayan ritual deposit at Yaxnoca, Mexico. PLoS ONE 19 (4): e0301497; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301497

Source: www.sci.news