| Description |
xiv, 298 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Contents |
How Usain Bolt could break his world record with no extra effort -- All-rounders -- The archers -- The flaw of averages -- Going round the bend -- A question of balance -- Anyone for baseball, tennis, or cricket? -- Bayes watch -- Best of three -- High jumping -- Having the right birthday -- Air time -- Kayaking -- Do you need a cox? -- On the cards -- Wheels on fire -- Points scoring -- Diving -- The most extreme sport of all -- Slip slidin' away -- Gender studies -- Physics for ground staff --What goes up must come down -- Left-handers versus right-handers -- Ultimate pole-vaulting -- The return of the Karate Kid -- Leverage -- Reach for the sky -- The marathon -- All that glitters is not gold -- Don't blink first -- Ping-pong is coming home -- A walk on the wild side -- Racing certainties -- What is the chance of being disqualified? -- Rowing has its moments -- Rugby and relativity -- Run rates -- Squash : a very peculiar practice -- Faking it -- A sense of proportion -- Cushioning the blow -- Breaststrokers -- That crucial point -- Throwin' in the wind -- The two-headed league -- What a racket -- Size matters -- A truly weird soccer match -- Twisting and turning -- The wayward wind -- Windsurfing -- Winning medals -- Why are there never world records in women's track and field? -- The zigzag run -- Cinderella sports -- Wheelchair racing -- The equitempered triathlon -- The madness of crowds -- Hydrophobic polyurethane swimsuits -- Modern pentathlon -- Keeping cool -- Wheelchair speeds -- The war on error -- Matters of gravity -- Googling in the Caribbean -- The ice-skating paradox -- Throwing the discus -- Goal differences -- Is the premier league random? -- Fancy gear : does it help? -- Triangles in the water -- The illusion of floating -- The anti-Matthew effect -- Seeding tournaments -- Fixing tournaments -- Wind-assisted marathons -- Going uphill -- Psychological momentum -- Goals, goals, goals -- Total immersion -- The great British soccer team -- Strange but true -- Blade runner -- Pairing people up -- Ticket scalpers -- Skydiving -- Running high -- The archer's paradox -- Bend it like Beckham -- Stop-go tactics -- Diving is a gas -- Spring is in the air -- The toss of the coin -- What sports should be in the Olympics? -- The cat paradox -- Things that fly through the air with the greatest of ease -- Some like it hot -- The bounce of the superball -- Thinking inside the box. |
| Summary |
A math professor shows how math and physics can offer unexpected insights into the world of sports, from the g-forces experienced by gymnasts during the "giant swing" maneuver to an explanation as to why left-handed boxers have a strategic advantage. |
| Subject |
Sports -- Mathematical models.
|
|
Sports sciences.
|
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Force and energy.
|
| ISBN |
9780393063417 (hardcover) |
|
0393063410 (hardcover) |
|
