It is a real shame that the study of alternative lifestyles has apparently replaced the study of PHYSICS in high schools. But let me try to explain...
The NFL allows a RANGE of air inflation pressures within the footballs accepted for play. As we all know now, this range is between 12.5 and 13.5 psi. As Brady has stated, he likes balls that in the lower end of this range - whether for the “feel” of the ball, his ability to grip, whatever.
The 24 balls submitted by the Patriots to the refs 2 1/4 hours before game time are WEIGHED and MEASURED by the refs before being allowed for use in the game. ALL WERE ACCEPTED, meaning that they met the requirements of inflation between 12.5 and 13.5 psi. The Colts also submitted 12 balls for use in the game and they were also accepted. What we do not know is WHAT THE INFLATION OF THE COLTS OR PATRIOT BALLS WERE PRIOR TO THE GAME except that they all were approved.
The testing of the game balls is done indoors, in “controlled” conditions - say 75 degrees.
We have already established that the Patriot QB liked his footballs to be at the lower end of the acceptable inflation range. For the sake of this discussion, let’s say that they were all at 12.5 psi exactly.
Moving forward, the APPROVED BALLS are held by the refs until just before game time - I read that the game balls are distributed to the ball boys approximately 10 minutes before the game.
The game time temperature was approximately 49 degrees and fell throughout the evening to approximately 45 degrees.
Falling back on my high school physics, the balls that were measured and approved under indoor temperatures would by necessity LOSE AIR PRESSURE under the game conditions. If Tom Brady started out with footballs at 12.5 psi, the game time conditions would quickly reduce the internal pressure to approximately 11.8 psi.
As for the Colts footballs “passing” the subsequent halftime test by the referees, had they been originally inflated to 13.5 psi, they would have DEFLATED by a proportional amount - namely 0.7 psi. So 13.5 minus 0.7 equals 12.8 psi - STILL WITHIN THE NFL APPROVED RANGE.
So, before the world castigates the Patriots for some nefarious plot to reduce air pressure, we need more information. Namely, what was the measured pressure in the “illegal” balls tested at halftime? If it was between 11.8 and 12.4 psi, welcome to the world of Newtonian physics. If it is, as has been reported, greater than that, then we might look further into the reasons.
If the internal pressure did not fall proportionally with the fall in temperature, that would be a huge story because the laws of physics apparently do not exist as we know them in the NFL or in Foxboro.
I will now don my asbestos suit.
Flame on, fellow Freepers.
The head of physics at MIT said weather could not have been the factor in this case. And he’s in Mass. I’ll trust his physics on this one.
Lets keep it simple, find balloon, blow up balloon, place in freezer for 30 minutes, remove balloon. note changes in balloon
Well said Sir.