MY take on Belichicks explanation for the underinflated football controversy... (for those of you who even care, LOL!) BTW - CHEMISTRY ROCKS! According to Joseph Gay-Lussac (1778-1850), Pressure is proportional to Kelvin temperature... That is, (as temp in K rises, pressure rises in proportion). Assuming the game temperature was 40*F, the standard NFL pressure is 12.5 psi, and the footballs had lost 2 psi (down to 10.5 psi), yes, the footballs COULD HAVE BEEN FILLED AT A HIGHER TEMP, THEN LOST PRESSURE... but HOW high must the filling temperature have been to create a 2psi drop in pressure by game time? Using the Law above, P1/T1 = P2/T2 Let the beginning temperature T1 = T1 (unknown) Let the final (game) temp = T2 = 40*F = 4*C = 277Kelvins Let the beginning pressure = P1 = 12.5 psi Let the final pressure = P2 = 10.5 psi Solve for T1... 330 Kelvins, = 57*C = 135*F So Belichick is saying that his footballs were filled in a room THAT WAS AT 135 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT?!! Either the footballs were intentionally inflated with HEATED air (think hair dryer hot!), or actually HEATED to proper pressure before the refs inspected them! Sitting over an hour on the sidelines at 40*F, the balls would have naturally lost the 2psi as they cooled. Sounds like a cheat - either way...
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 00:07:09 +0000
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