What a ball!

So what?s with science and soccer, you say? Consider the ball. It was earlier made of leather and lasted only a couple of thousand kicks before losing its shape, becoming soggy and heavy in rain, writes Prakash Chandra.

So what’s with science and soccer, you say? Consider the ball. It was earlier made of leather and lasted only a couple of thousand kicks before losing its shape, becoming soggy and heavy in rain. Researchers experimented with various decals, bladders, and synthetics until 1970, when Adidas designed a ball along the lines of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome. Balls with gas-filled cells embedded in foam for better bounce, and seamless balls that improved the aerodynamics of drag all preceded the latest marvel: this World Cup’s Teamgeist.

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Its polyurethane-coated surface makes it look as if it’s speeding up when it’s actually slowing down (ask Buffon). The basic physics is still the same, and the side that’s kicked flattens out before snapping back into shape to hurl the ball away. But fewer panels make the Teamgeist closer to being perfectly round, and its dimples produce helpful air pockets for a longer, more accurate flight path.

This Cup’s dubious record for refereeing is no surprise. Even to detect an offside, the human eye must keep at least five moving objects in its visual field simultaneously: two players of the attacking team, the last two players of the defending team and the ball. Since these can be anywhere within the defenders’ half of the pitch — an area of 3,200 sq. metres — you need frame-by-frame analysis to decide, which is impractical.

A computer-based system developed by Italy’s National Research Council offers a solution. A sideline camera installed at midfield gives a 180 degree view of the field and a computer capable of distinguishing each player’s position processes the footage to determine if a player is offside. At the moment of infringement, it wirelessly signals the referee. Microchips inside shin-pads could also alert him, making offside calls foolproof. Another ‘smartball’ system uses a microchip in the ball to trigger the referee’s wristband, which vibrates and bleeps when the ball passes over sensors on the goal-line. Pity Fifa rules these out as too many gadgets.

Want to curl it like Grosso from 30 yards? Use some physics. In a perfect free-kick, the ball travels with sufficient speed and elevation to clear the wall of players, and spins fast enough to swerve away from the goalkeeper into the net. The ‘QuinSpin’ is a computerised system that provides a detailed picture of the ball’s flight within seconds, measuring ball spin with an arrangement of dots placed on its surface. Players get instant feedback. But a Zidane or a Figo is still the game’s ‘human edge’. Science can’t substitute that, yet!