Jabulani Ball

This weekend I went golfing and I found myself thinking about the physics of striking a ball and why they do what they do. I played football (soccer) in high school and college and know a bit about striking and bending a ball but the one movement that I never could get my head around was a knuckling ball.

A simple web search didn't turn up much besides a knuckling ball is one with little to no spin and some physics reports tended to report that in wind tunnel testing the eddies behind the ball varied over time, no doubt leading to changing air friction and a moving ball.

But I am no fool, I have seen television shows where they show the warping of a ball when struck (golf, tennis, baseball). I wonder just how much the shifting warping of the ball actually affects it's aerodynamic flight and lends to the knuckling tendency of a ball.

Regardless this new Jabulani Ball they are using this year appears to be a beast of a ball. A review by soccercleats101.com reported that the ball is incredibly round. has virtually no panel seams and has little dimples like a golf ball to aid it's flight. The dimples help the flight of the ball supposing it has little spin, and exaggerates the curve put on the ball. The tester was thrown off by the longevity of the flight  and had a hard time adjusting to the few extra meters of flight.

Some keepers have already expressed concern with the new ball saying that it is unpredictable and an unfair advantage for strikers. However since I like to see goals I don't really feel that sorry for them.