I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Boron Zone. It has a range of scientists studying all different topics. Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
the angle with which your foot hits the ball
1
Elaborating a little from Mark – if you apply a force with your foot that is to the *side* of the centre of mass of the object, it applies what is called a “torque” – a force that causes rotation.
1
A small additional point – the friction applied by the boot, across the side of the ball as it strikes, may add additional spin (rotational force) to that generated just by angle alone. So by combining both the amount of spin is substantially increased.
0
The same principle applies to making a tennis ball spin as well. Torque is a very important concept in mechanics!
0