So, you see, fluid mechanics can explain why a dimpled golf ball goes farther! Summary Golf ball dimples are used on all golf balls because a dimpled golf ball has less air resistance than a smooth ball of the same size and weight. This means less drag force and the ball going farther.
What is the reason behind golf balls being dimpled?
Oct 01, 2021 · For the specific range of Reynolds numbers the golf ball will experience, the drag is lower — therefore, the ball can go further. You might not be satisfied with this answer. We have observed that golf balls with dimples have lower drag, but we have not yet explained the reason why the drag crisis happens at lower speeds. To understand this phenomenon, we must take a …
Why do dimples on a golf ball allow it to travel farther?
Jul 19, 2016 · What do dimples do? They act as artificial turbulators, creating turbulence next to the ball surface giving rise to two layers of air going around the ball.
Why do golf balls have those little dents in them?
Jan 31, 2013 · The dimples in golf balls create turbulence, or mixed airflow, which, if done right, reduces drag. There are two main types of airflow — laminar and turbulent. Laminar movement …
Why are golf ball dimples make it go further?
Sep 15, 2021 · The depth of the dimples can also make a huge difference. A typical golf ball has 300 to 500 dimples, with an average depth of 0.010 inches. Most are spherical, though some …
How many dimples are on a golf ball?
Anywhere from 300 to 500.
Why are there dimples on a golf ball?
Originally, golf balls were smooth; but golfers noticed that older balls that were beat up with nicks, bumps and slices in the cover seemed to fly...
What golf ball dimples do?
The dimples on a golf ball are simply a formal, symmetrical way of creating the same turbulence in the boundary layer that nicks and cuts do.
Have golf balls always had dimples?
No, golf balls were originally smooth.
Is it better to have dimples on a golf ball?
Yes. The nicks and cuts were acting as "turbulators" — they induce turbulence in the layer of air next to the ball. In some situations, a turbulent...
How do dimples work in golf?
As it turns out, the dimples make the game of golf possible. The dimples facilitate aerodynamic optimization, or the ability of the ball to travel longer distances by influencing the lift and drag of an object in the air. (Lift goes in the direction perpendicular to motion; drag opposes motion.) According to Scientific American, a dimpled ball travels twice as far as a smooth one would. That’s because the dimples produce a boundary of air around the ball, reducing the wake of air as well as the drag. They also act as turbulators, inducing turbulence in the layer around the ball.
How many dimples are in a golf ball?
The depth of the dimples can also make a huge difference. A typical golf ball has 300 to 500 dimples, with an average depth of 0.010 inches. Most are spherical, though some companies have adopted a hexagon shape in order to reduce drag further.
What is a dimple in golf?
The dimples on a golf ball are simply a formal, symmetrical way of creating the same turbulence in the boundary layer that nicks and cuts do. What is the history of golf?
What is the effect of nicks and cuts on the ball?
At some point, an aerodynamicist must have looked at this problem and realized that the nicks and cuts were acting as " turbulators " -- they induce turbulence in the layer of air next to the ball (the "boundary layer"). In some situations, a turbulent boundary layer reduces drag, making the golf ball go further.
Why do golf balls have dimples?
Golf ball dimples are used on all golf balls because a dimpled golf ball has less air resistance than a smooth ball of the same size and weight. This means less drag force and the ball going farther.
Who invented the golf ball?
Finally, in 1908, an Englishman, William Taylor, is credited with first manufacturing a golf ball having a dimpled surface. In time that design took over and golf ball dimples are present on any golf ball you see in use today.
What happens if the leading part of the surface is rough?
If, however, the leading part of the surface is rough, then the entire boundary layer will be turbulent. Now the most interesting fact of all: A turbulent boundary layer will remain attached to the surface farther around to the back of the ball than a laminar boundary layer will.
What causes air resistance in a ball?
For flow around a ball (or a ball moving through a fluid), the air resistance will be due to both friction drag and pressure drag. There will be a boundary layer (and the resulting friction drag) on the front part of the ball.
What is the drag force of a flat surface?
For flow parallel to a flat surface, the drag force is essentially all friction drag. For flow perpendicular to a flat plate (like a billboard), the drag force is almost all pressure drag. This is shown in the diagram at the left.
Is frictional drag greater with turbulent boundary layers than with laminar boundary layers?
The frictional drag is greater with a turbulent boundary layer than with a laminar boundary layer, but the frictional drag is much smaller than the pressure drag for flow around a sphere, so the pressure drag effects are predominant. So, you see, fluid mechanics can explain why a dimpled golf ball goes farther!
What happens if you scuff a baseball ball?
In baseball the answer is simple. If you get caught intentionally scuffing the ball, you get in trouble and the ball gets replaced. The game is balanced around an un-scuffed ball. In cricket, scuffing the ball is actually part of the game mechanics. You'll see players intentionally scuffing one side of the ball to create an uneven effect that permits the bowler to have more control over the ball.
Do you need dimples for shot putts?
In shot putt, I think they giggle at the idea of air friction against a 16 pound projectile, so dimple s aren't needed.
Do dimples reduce drag?
To my knowledge there isn't anything that uses dimples to reduce drag. It's weird to hear why dimples are useful and help the ball go farther while at the same time finding no other examples.
Can you put dimples on anything?
People have thought of putting dimples on everything from swimsuits to cars to airplanes. You only get an advantage from these dimples if the boundary layer can be made to stick longer to the object. Some cars just have vertical flat ends to them where the trunk comes down and there is no way to reduce the turbulent wake of these no matter how dimpled the paint is. And the boundary layer stays with airplane wings except maybe a bit at the ends (some gain can be made by putting small rods out on the tips or on the trailing edges of the wings).
How many dimples are in a golf ball?
Most golf balls have between 300 and 500 dimples, which have an average depth of about 0.010 inch. The lift and drag forces on a golf ball are very sensitive to dimple depth: a depth change of 0.001 inch can produce a radical change to the ball's trajectory and the overall distance it can fly.
What is the effect of the spin on a golf ball?
The spinning action makes the air pressure on the bottom of the ball higher than the air pressure on the top; this imbalance creates an upward force on the ball. Ball spin contributes about one half of a golf ball's lift. The other half is provided by the dimples, which allow for optimization of the lift force.
How does the size of a golf ball affect the amount of drag on the object?
This allows the smoothly flowing air to follow the ball's surface a little farther around the back side of the ball, thereby decreasing the size of the wake .
How long does a golf ball impact last?
The impact typically lasts only 1/2000 of a second, but it establishes the ball's velocity, launch angle and spin rate.
What happens when you rotate your hand in the air stream?
As you rotate your hand in the air stream, you vary the amount and direction of the lift and drag forces acting on your hand. A moving object has a high-pressure area on its front side. Air flows smoothly over the contours of the front side and eventually separates from the object toward the back side.
Is a dimple a shape?
Dimples have traditionally been spherical in shape, but it is possible to optimize the aerodynamic performance of other shapes. The HX golf ball by Callaway, for example, uses hexagons ( see image ). Air exerts a force on any object moving through it.