Engineering in Sports: Energy Transfer in Athletic Gear
Students examine engineering in sportsCopyright 2006 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
Imagining themselves arriving at the Olympics gold medal soccer game in Rio, Brazil, students begin to think about how engineering is involved in sports. After a discussion of kinetic and potential energy, an associated hands-on activity gives students an opportunity to explore energy-absorbing materials as they try to protect an egg from being crushed.
Companies spend millions of dollars on research and hiring engineers specializing in aerodynamics, materials and other specialties in hopes of gaining a product edge. Engineers play an important role in sports, especially in the design of sporting equipment and high-performance athletics. From tennis racquets to swimsuits, engineers design with the goal of creating lighter, faster and stronger equipment. High-tech, well-designed gear helps athletes perform to their highest abilities while also staying safe. For most engineered sports equipment, energy transfer is the single most important scientific concept. Football pads and helmets must absorb high-energy collisions. The best golf clubs transfer as much energy to the golf ball as possible. Engineers must be able to understand and apply the principles of kinetic and potential energy to design excellent sporting equipment.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Give examples of how engineers help athletes stay safe.
- Give examples of how engineers help athletes perform to their highest abilities.
- Define kinetic and potential energy and explain the difference between the two.