STEM Café — Physics of the Olympics

Why do high jumpers cross horizontal bars backward? How does Simone Biles fly higher than other gymnasts? And how does Megan Rapinoe score on free kicks with so many players in the way? There’s a huge amount of interesting physics that will take place during the summer Olympics, and it can all be understood without using any complicated mathematics.

Join NIU Physics professors Jahred Adelman and Mike Eads to find out what happens when a diver jumps off a platform, when a gymnast performs a set or when soccer player kicks a ball. You’ll never watch the Olympics in quite the same way again!