In my previous article I examined how quickly Usain Bolt completes his 100 m race, and the difference between his maximum and average running speed. We found that Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the 100 metres, but how fast is he compared to other athletes in other running events or even other athletic […]
It appears that in this year’s Olympics, the issue of technology in sport is as big an issue as it’s ever been. And with running suits appearing in athletics, it is bound to be a hot topic of conversation. The ‘science spat’ below is the second of three letters and responses between Steve Haake and […]
Guest blogs have unfortunately taken a back seat recently as the ‘ask a sports engineer’ project has got underway. I’ve had this article sitting in my inbox for a while and I thought it has particular relevance with the Olympic swimming underway and the controversy currently surrounding some of the incredible results we’re seeing in […]
It appears that in this year’s Olympics, the issue of technology in sport is as big an issue as it’s ever been. And with running suits appearing in athletics, it is bound to be a hot topic of conversation. The ‘science spat’ below is the first of three letters and responses between Steve Haake and […]
Professor Haake has been working with the Royal Institution over the past few months to create a series of impressive videos exploring the world of technology in sport. They are available to view on the website but I’ve also embedded the videos below so you can view them on our blog too. Take a look […]
The next question in our ‘Ask a Sports Engineer’ series tackles some of the cutting edge equipment that is used across a wide range of sports: the skin suit. Nađa Higl wearing a Jaked swimsuit at the 2010 European Aquatics Championships in Budapest When talking about skin suits we are referring to the tight, […]
In 2005 the bicycle was voted the most significant technological invention since 1800; this blog looks back at the history of the bicycle and investigates how sports engineering has helped the bicycle achieve this accolade. The history of the first bicycle is a little muddled; like many great inventions its current design has been more […]
The following article is a synopsis of “Material Advantage” which was published in Physics World in July 2012. It can be found here. — When I went into the field of sports engineering, people would say to me “it’s ruining sport, it’s just about who has the best equipment”. This put me in a dilemma: […]
One of our V&A questions recently was “why are the Olympics important?” Here, Prof Steve Haake gives his personal take on the importance of the Olympics. Seven years ago, in 2005, one of my colleagues (Dr John Hart) and I were lucky enough to be invited to Singapore for the UK’s bid for the Olympics. […]
Football is the most popular sport on the planet. In 2006 FIFA reported that there were 265 million players registered to one of its member associations, and this doesn’t include the countless players who have the occasional kick around at the park. Around 40 million footballs are sold each year around the world, making the […]
Engineering Sport 