Beckham as physicist?

Gren Ireson
2000 Physics Education  
It is hard to think of a medium that does not use football or soccer as a means of promotion. It is also hard to think of a student who has not heard of David Beckham. If football captures the interest of students it can be used to teach physics; in this case a Beckham free-kick can be used to introduce concepts such as drag, the Bernoulli principle, Reynolds number and the Magnus effect, by asking the simple question: How does he curve the ball so much? Much basic mechanics can also be introduced along the way.
doi:10.1088/0031-9120/36/1/301 fatcat:kw72xzlap5axfmryq7bbu7stli