T. Donelson
I play and coach volleyball and thought it would be interesting to see how Newtons Laws play an affect into the game!
Newtons first law says ” An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” When you miss a serve and it hits the net and when you block a ball from the opposing player and feel the stinging in your arms that all act as an unbalanced force that stopped, or changed the direction the object in motion , in this case the volleyball.
Newtons second law states ” The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net external force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.” Mass multiplied by acceleration equals net external force. A hit volleyball creates a net external force that stings your hands when you stop it. Your hands hurt even more when you stop an attacked ball by a different opponent. The harder-hit ball’s means a higher acceleration rate which results in a stronger net external force.
Lastly, Newtons third law says, ” To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” When two objects interact, they exert a force on each other. The force of a spiked ball meets the reaction force of a player’s block. A team scores a point when the action force of a spiked ball meets the reaction force of the opposing team’s court.
L. Steinmeyer
Newton’s first law states that “an object at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains in motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force.” As I’ve been thinking about this specific law, I can’t help but think about dance. I have taught partnered dancing for many years and we often talk about what it means to be engaged, yet remaining at rest until your partner initiates movement. With the tension in the followers frame, it’s much easier to feel the lead communicating that a movement is being requested of them. Likewise, we also stress to our leads how important it is to communicate direction to their followers. If they initiate momentum, but don’t give a specific direction (like a spin), then the follow will release that pent up momentum somewhere. The “dance” is finding out ways to engage, initiate, build momentum, and then direct that momentum into a beautiful moment on the dance floor.
