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How to reduce the amount of air in a football without letting any air out
Watts Up with That? ^ | January 28, 2015 | By Alec Rawls

Posted on 01/28/2015 1:26:13 PM PST by Brad from Tennessee

Just fill the ball with warm humid indoor air, then when it temperature-equalizes with the 25°F cooler outdoor air on your AFC Championship playing field some of the water vapor in the ball will condense into water, leaving less air in the ball, solving the great mystery: how did the footballs used by the Championship winning New England Patriots show 12.5 psi of inflation pressure in the official pre-game check but only 10.5 psi when checked at halftime?

There is also a decrease in pressure due to the cooling of the molecules that remain gaseous. Those air molecules are not zipping around as fast as they were so they exert less outward pressure on the ball. But according to the ideal gas law, if there were no reduction in the number of gas molecules in the balls it would have taken a large drop in temperature, about 40°F, to cause the observed drop in air pressure. So says Boston College professor Martin Schmaltz:

"In order for a ball to register a 10.5 PSI in a 50 degree environment [the temperature on the field at halftime] but register a 12.5 PSI in the testing environment, the ball would have to have been inflated, stored, and/or tested in a 91 degree environment."

(Excerpt) Read more at wattsupwiththat.com ...


TOPICS: Science; Sports
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To: cripplecreek

Yep! They would have to find another way to, uh, ‘bend the rules’...............


21 posted on 01/28/2015 1:50:18 PM PST by Red Badger (If you compromise with evil, you just get more evil..........................)
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To: cripplecreek

Dry nitrogen simple means the tires change more uniformly. The gas will still expand/contract with temperature. (basic physics)


22 posted on 01/28/2015 1:52:31 PM PST by Starwolf
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To: Charles Martel

Probably so. I still can’t see how a deflated ball is easier to throw. Catch, maybe, but not throw. Nice username.


23 posted on 01/28/2015 1:52:34 PM PST by cdcdawg
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To: nikos1121
"God, you’re a genius... only why only the Patriot balls were deflated...”Old shoe cleats breath?”"

Question One: Were the other balls checked?

Question Two: What pressure were the other teams Balls initially inflated to?

Question three: If the other teams balls were inflated to say the maximum did they lose pressure but still stay within the acceptable range?

24 posted on 01/28/2015 1:54:18 PM PST by Mad Dawgg (If you're going to deny my 1st Amendment rights then I must proceed to the 2nd one...)
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To: cincinnati65

“Doesn’t the pump heat up as you inflate the balls to begin with? So you could be dumping warmer than room temperature air into the balls before sending them out in the cold.”

True but a negligible effect since the volume of air being pumped into a football is small. It’s the difference between filling a bicycle tire and a car tire. The bike tire reaches rated pressure very quickly. The heat content of that volume of air is less even if the temperatures are the same.


25 posted on 01/28/2015 1:56:33 PM PST by Tallguy
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To: cripplecreek

The pressure at 40 deg will still be lower than at 75 degrees.


26 posted on 01/28/2015 1:56:43 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Good Muslims, like good Nazis or good liberals, are terrible human beings.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Football ping


27 posted on 01/28/2015 2:01:21 PM PST by TNoldman (AN AMERICAN FOR A MUSLIM/BHO FREE AMERICA.)
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To: Red Badger

Seeking “an edge” is a time honored tradition in NASCAR.

Darrell Waltrip tells a story about going around Talladega and seeing someone passing and the rear spoiler was laying flat. He thought about pointing it out to the officials but decided to threaten that team’s crew chief to let him in on the secret instead.

Turned out that the team had machined some tiny shock absorbers to look like the struts that are supposed to stiffen the rear spoiler. The faster the car went, the flatter the rear spoiler would get.


28 posted on 01/28/2015 2:01:43 PM PST by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: Steely Tom

the balls were wet also


29 posted on 01/28/2015 2:02:15 PM PST by jyro (French-like Democrats wave the white flag of surrender while we are winning)
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To: cripplecreek
Dry nitrogen and the NFL providing the balls would kill the issue dead.

Regardless of how this shakes out, it's a pretty safe bet that there will be some rule changes for next season. One thing you won't see again is the teams having control of the balls after they have been checked by the officials.

30 posted on 01/28/2015 2:02:41 PM PST by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

it also depends of the humidity of the air they were filled with, as someone mentioned, filled with nitrogen it has no humidity.


31 posted on 01/28/2015 2:03:49 PM PST by jyro (French-like Democrats wave the white flag of surrender while we are winning)
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To: Brad from Tennessee
If only there had been two more PSI in their footballs the Colts would have won!

</sarcasm>

32 posted on 01/28/2015 2:05:26 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (Government is the religion of the fascists.)
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To: KarlInOhio

Thanks for the correction about gage pressure.


33 posted on 01/28/2015 2:05:40 PM PST by Steely Tom (Vote GOP for A Slower Handbasket)
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To: Red Badger

I read the rule after this started. Have you? I am accustomed to reading technical specs and looking for unsaid or poorly stated specs. I am astounded at how poorly rule 2 reads in regards to pressure. First the units are incorrect. Second it only says the balls are to supplied at that pressure to be tested. That they be maintained at that pressure is left unsaid. Where is the game requirement for pressure. Nowhere in my mind. The process for out of spec balls was followed. I see no problem with the Pats actions if they simply deflated them. It isn’t specifically prohibited.


34 posted on 01/28/2015 2:12:09 PM PST by smaug6 (We can't afford to be innocent!! Stand up and face the enemy.)
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Any Big Bang Theory fans?

Sulfur Hexafluoride - Deep Voice Gas - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Du19QfJWI1oQ

My voice after inhaling Sulfur Hexafluoride - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DvcVMjGRzDz8

How to get a deeper voice with Sulphur Hexafluoride - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRaKDLWsWfSM


35 posted on 01/28/2015 2:21:23 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SunkenCiv
We would use sulfur hex as an insulating gas for our particle accelerator tools, also great for freaking the heck out of the secretaries when they would come in the electronic repair shop, LOL!

Their eyes would get as big as saucers before they caught on, we would sound like "Ironman".

36 posted on 01/28/2015 2:30:09 PM PST by The Cajun (Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, Mark Levin, Mike Lee, Louie Gohmert....Nuff said.)
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To: nikos1121

Teams have their own footballs for games...........


37 posted on 01/28/2015 2:34:08 PM PST by Osage Orange (I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be controlling it.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

I knew it ....global warming


38 posted on 01/28/2015 2:37:45 PM PST by woofie
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To: woofie

That or the Tea Party. You can’t trust those guys from Boston.


39 posted on 01/28/2015 2:41:11 PM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Ingtar
I believe the official marked them without ever testing them before the game. It actually seems to be the most logical solution.

Yep. Lifted them up, gave a quick visual inspection and said that's OK.
40 posted on 01/28/2015 2:51:13 PM PST by FewsOrange
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