Department of Physics and Astronomy

"Investigating the Range of Flight of a Kicked Football"  Jeremy Alland, Evan Dickerson, Jeff Tienes, Nicholas Vetz, and Dr. Howard L. Brooks

Abstract:  In 1999 the NFL implemented a standardization of kicking balls, requiring 12 new footballs, each distinguishable by the marking of a ‘K’, to be used for all game time kicks.  In doing so, the controversy of variably worn footballs correlating to different flight ranges became nullified.  However, the standardization of the weather conditions and other variables is impossible.  Potentially, temperature, pressure, placement of the football on the kicking tee, and launch angle are all variables that can alter range.  A greater understanding of these slight changes can provide one team an advantage over the other.  In the experiment presented here, a kicking machine was constructed of springs, steel rods, and an aluminum foot and was used for all trials.  A combination of the potential energy converted into kinetic energy by the springs and the transfer of momentum from the accelerated foot and leg into the football propelled the designated ball from the tee, providing a quantifiable range.  Three significant results were found evident after the trials were run: 1) surprisingly, pressures ranging from 26-5psi exhibited little variation in the range of the kicked footballs; 2) for the trials varying temperature, a 10% decrease in range was observed from the room temperature to the -17.0 °C balls; 3) the same effect was shown in the variable football wear trials.  The new balls went 10% shorter than the weathered balls.  An in depth analysis of the experiment and results of the kick and flight mechanics of a football are presented.

Poster (PDF)

Abstract:  Neutron decay has been studied in the past century and several coefficients related to this process have been determined recently.  One of these coefficients is called little "a" and is related to the probability that the anti-neutrino and electron from a neutron decay have the same general direction.  The previous measurements of "a" contain a total error of about 4%1,2. An experiment that employs a novel method (see figure 1 in the poster) of measuring this coefficient is now being built3.  This new design will reduce the error to less than 1%, allowing us to test the current prediction made by the Standard Model more precisely.  The immediate goal of this project is to design electron collimators that will minimize electrons that scatter from the collimator into the electron detector.  These events, left unchecked, will cause a large systematic error in "a". 

References:  1Byrne et al., Journal of Physics G, 28, 1325 (2002). 2Stratowa et al., Physical Review D, 18, 3970 (1978). 3Wietfeldt et al., submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods A.

Poster (PDF | PowerPoint)

"Electron Collimator Design for the Little "a" Measurement" Travis Clark and Dr. Alexander Komives

Abstract: The Electron Collimator Ring (ECR) Project at DUNPL is a part of a larger project aimed at determining, in the free beta decay of a neutron, the direction of an anti-neutrino relative to the directions of the proton and electron with greater accuracy.  The relative direction of the anti-neutrino will be inferred indirectly by measuring the electron and proton velocities with respective detectors and by timing the detection interval.  The Electron Collimator Rings are designed to remove electrons from the experiment which will not yield accurate measurements.  The goal of the ECR Project is to find the best geometry-material combination for the design of the rings.

Poster (PDF | PowerPoint)