stabilis

The weather is warming up. Grass can be seen.  This means that the only thing I really want to think about at the moment is soccer.
Mmm...soccer.

Last semester I spent basically all my efforts in my English class writing about soccer.  It was a great English class.  Now if only my statics class could also revolve around soccer.  Or even just sit still around soccer, since it's static...

Statics and dynamics tests should look like this:





← 1) Find the applied upward force needed to stall the .5 kg ball. 

2) If there is a 2 N force pushing the .5 kg ball to the left, what is the coefficient of friction between the ball and the boot?








← 3) If the goalkeeper's forward force is equal to 250 lbs, find the amount of work done in stopping his momentum by the spikes of his cleats.  The keeper weighs 180 lbs and the coefficient of friction between grass and the bottom of a normal shoe is 0.5. (Assume the keeper's boot acts like a normal shoe in between the spikes)



This is infinitely more interesting than bridges.  Also, if you solve all three problems correctly, you get a hat trick.  That's a well-deserved three points, whether you're at home or on the road.

Ahhh...soccer puns. X)

But seriously.  Some people in engineering classes like statics aren't really interested in bridges and trusses and structures.  They want to grow up and be a soccer engineer, not a civil engineer.  (Could you imagine how terrible it would be to be a civil engineer?  You'd have to behave yourself all the time!)