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Polymers in sports

Organic chemistry is the study of Carbon containing compounds.  Carbon is a essential part of polymers.  Polymers are made up of repeating monomers - which are small carbon containing covalent compounds.  Another word for polymer is plastic.  We all deal with plastics every day - in clothes, shoes, cars, soda and water containers.

There are also a lot of polymers used in sports.  From the football made from polyurethane to the football field turf made from polyethylene.  Both of these polymers are man-made polymers.  There are a lot of natural polymers also still in use in the sports industry.  For example tennis balls are usually covered in wool, which adds superior playability, consistency and durability to a tennis ball. 

So everywhere you look while watching a sporting event or playing one yourself, you will see chemistry in action.  Chemists are helping to advance sports all over the world!

Some cool websites are:
A website about sports surfaces - such as turf, playground, and track surfaces.

That doesn't interest you - then maybe a website about a polymer used in shoes and sports equipment will. 

Here is a cool pdf about lycra and kevlar - two polymers used in the Olympics but for different reasons.  Make sure you have Adobe Acrobat downloaded before you open it.

Here is a website about a new breakthrough in polymer chemistry for use in sports.  Scroll down for a description of a polymer.

And finally this a website where you can pick a sport and see what kind of plastic is in use in the sport today. 

Posted at 04:49PM Jul 19, 2006 by CHRISTIAN, CAROLINE in Chemistry and sports  |  Comments[8]