Snapshots of sporting success

(iStockphoto/technotr)

By James Dacey

Sport can produce some stunning photos, capturing the drama and the triumph that come with the pursuit of sporting success. In today’s world, sport lovers are increasingly looking to science and technology for ways to enable and enhance performances.

The theme for our latest photo challenge is “the physics and technology of sport”. As always with these challenges we want you to be creative with the theme. But if you are looking for a steer then you might consider trying to get some interesting shots of sports equipment in action. For example, you might aim for images that juxtapose the exertions of athletes with the stress and strains exerted on sporting equipment – rowers cutting through water with their oars, or golfers looking for that perfect swing.

Or you might try to explore ways of visualizing the human body as a type of machine that athletes try to optimize for sport. For example, the long lean physique of distance runners, or the more muscular, powerful bodies of sprinters. To take part please submit photos to our Flickr group by Monday 6 August, after which we will choose a selection of our favourite images to be showcased on physicsworld.com.

(iStockphoto/MichaelSvoboda)

You may take inspiration from the July issue of Physics World, which looks at some of the challenges in the “physics of sport”, including the physics of the prosthetic devices that are leading disabled athletes to success, and how gymnasts, divers and long jumpers are all unconscious masters of manipulating the law of conservation of angular momentum. Members of the Institute of Physics can access the entire new issue free online through the digital version of the magazine by following this link or by downloading the Physics World app onto your iPhone or iPad or Android device, available from the App Store and Google Play, respectively.

In our previous photo challenge, we asked readers to share their astrophotography and we had some stunning submissions. You can see a selection of these photos in this showcase.