Air resistance in Badminton
Topic
Air resistance in Badminton is one of the many Olympic sports where physics has made all the difference. The shuttlecock used in playing badminton consist of special characteristics of aerodynamic (Cohen,et, al., 2015). The shuttlecock feather-like features create aerodynamic stability and cause a drag force generated due to air resistance. Air resistance is the force that acting in the opposite direction to an item moving through the air. Compared to balls, shuttlecocks lose much speed, and the feather points backward while in the air, regardless of the position and direction the shuttlecock faces when struck. The high drag encourages players to hit the shuttlecock harder compared to balls. Air resistance is applied in other sports, such as swimming, diving, gymnastic, speed skating and archery.
Background (30 points)
All objects fall freely under the same rate o acceleration, known as the acceleration o gravity. The question involves why objects fall with the same rate of acceleration; hence the mass is different. Air resistance acts equally on all objects where all objects that ace air resistance reach terminal velocity (Cohen,et, al., 2015). Air resistance causes larger objects to fall faster than smaller objects. The motion o objects are based on the newton’s second law, where objects fall under gravitational force. When the object is in air, the object experiences some degree o drag caused when the object collides with the air, producing air molecules within the object’s surface.
Air resistance depends on the object’s speed and the cross-sectional area, where an increase in speed increases air resistance. An increase in the cross-sectional area increases air resistance, as the object alls at a higher speed (Cohen,et, al., 2015). These air resistance increases enhance the balance. When the force applied is zero newtons, the object will stop accelerating, and there will be no air resistance produced; hence the object will have reached terminal velocity.
Application of PHS100 Concepts
The unique shuttlecock stability is caused by different center mass and pressure. The shuttlecock’s conical shape gives rise to the flipping motion where the cork is denser than the feathers; therefore, the mass difference enables flipping towards one direction. The relationship between air resistance and shutter lock speed is key where the shuttlecocks fly under gravitational force (Cohen,et, al., 2015).
Motion equations formation depend on terminal velocity and aerodynamic. For instance, the proportionality between the air drag and shuttle velocity, where the stoke’s strength influences trajectory and direction (Cohen,et, al., 2015). The special shuttlecock characteristics cause’ unsymmetrical motion according to the law of Badminton by badminton world federation. The shuttlecock does no perform a 360° turn, according to a study, during a game, one millisecond is the racquet contact time, twenty milliseconds, the initial flip and eighty milliseconds oscillation time (McErlain-Naylor, et, al.,2020). A decrease in the intensity of strokes increases the time used.
The shuttlecock’s motion equation is constructed through speed, direction, time, and the shuttlecock’s path. According to newton’s second law, the shutter lock direction through the air is opposite to the shuttlecocks (gravitational force) (McErlain-Naylor, et, al.,2020). F⃗v is the aerodynamic drag force, w is the gravitational force, B is buoyancy.
When the shuttlecock falls vertically, the speed and the resistance force tends to increase. The rate of acceleration equal to zero when resistance forces and the weight of the shuttlecock balances. The shuttlecock attains its terminal velocity hence moving under zero acceleration. The motion of the shuttlecock is considered to be under constant velocity.
Terminal velocity equals to
The modeled speed determines the resistance force or the speed squared (McErlain-Naylor,et,al.,2020). In case the shuttlecock is hit using the initial velocity, the horizontal and vertical velocities are,
The velocity determines air resistance and the speed of the shuttlecock. Additionally, the shuttlecocks’ drag coefficient with small or without gaps is smaller compared to the ordinary size of the shuttlecock gap.
Shuttlecock physics has inspired various studies, such as the impact of the flip concept on the game. The shuttlecock’s conical shape gives rise to the flipping motion where the cork is denser than the feathers; therefore, the mass difference enables flipping towards one direction. The physical science behind Badminton has been published in various books, such as the physics of Badminton. Apart from the high drag, the shuttlecock geometry affects flipping, where the size of the opening angles influences its flipping.
The shuttlecock geometry consists of intermediate opening angles that enhance stability and promote flipping. The shuttlecock has several characteristics that give rise to others; for instance, the kind of strokes may influence trajectory, the center of mass and center of pressure. According to various research, the synthetic shuttlecock is different from feathery shuttlecock; hence players still consider the use of feathery shuttlecocks (Nakagawa, Hasegawa, Murakami, 2020). Also, studies have shown the difference between a plastic and a feathered shuttlecock.
References
Cohen, C., Texier, B. D., Quéré, D., & Clanet, C. (2015). The physics of badminton. New Journal of Physics, 17(6), 063001.
McErlain-Naylor, S. A., Towler, H., Afzal, I. A., Felton, P. J., Hiley, M. J., & King, M. A. (2020). Effect of racket-shuttlecock impact location on shot outcome for badminton smashes by elite players. Journal of sports sciences, 1-8.
Nakagawa, K., Hasegawa, H., & Murakami, M. (2020). Comparison of Aerodynamic Properties of Badminton Feather and Synthetic Shuttlecocks. In Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Proceedings (Vol. 49, No. 1, p. 104).
