Tag Archives: spinning

Harlem Globetrotters and the Magnus effect

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Just about everybody is interested in science these days and the Harlem Globetrotters (basketball team) are no exception,,

Here’s more about science and Harlem Globetrotters from an October 17, 2018 news release (received via email),

(Dallas, TX – Oct. 17, 2018) To prepare for their new world tour, the Harlem Globetrotters demonstrated acts of science at the “highest” level when Zeus McClurkin made two trick shots from the roof of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in downtown Dallas.  Showing off the Magnus Effect, Zeus spun a basketball on his finger and shot a “curve ball” from nearly 200 feet up – hitting nothing but net in a hoop below.

The video was released today and is available via the hyperlinks below.  The footage and accompanying music are approved for media (courtesy Harlem Globetrotters).

Via YouTube

Via Facebook

As a two-time Guinness World Record holder, Zeus was joined by Cindy Hua, one of the “Brainiac” science educators from the Perot Museum.  Cindy took Zeus through the concept of the “Magus Effect” and how a spin of the ball will affect his shot.

The Globetrotters will bring their new Fan Powered World Tour to Dallas and Frisco over Thanksgiving Weekend.  The world famous team will play the Dr Pepper Arena on Friday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.  Plus, two more games at American Airlines Center on Saturday, Nov. 24 a 1 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m.  The full schedule of the Globetrotters’ games in Texas and around the world are available at HarlemGlobetrotters.com.

The top cultural attraction in Dallas/Fort Worth and a Michelin Green Guide three-star destination, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a nonprofit educational organization located in Victory Park in the heart of Dallas, Texas. With a mission to inspire minds through nature and science, the 180,000-square-foot Perot Museum delivers exciting, engaging and innovative experiences through its education, exhibit, global research and collections programming for children, students, teachers, families and life-long learners. To learn more, please visit perotmuseum.org.

For anyone who’s curious about the Magnus effect and its impact on ‘ball sports’, there’s this from its Wikipedia entry (Note: Links have been removed),

The most readily observable case of the Magnus effect is when a spinning sphere (or cylinder) curves away from the arc it would follow if it were not spinning. It is often used by soccer players, baseball pitchers and cricket bowlers. Consequently, the phenomenon is important in the study of the physics of many ball sports. It is also an important factor in the study of the effects of spinning on guided missiles—and has some engineering uses, for instance in the design of rotor ships and Flettner aeroplanes.

Frankly, I’m thrilled it never occurred to me that I’d ever have a chance to include the Harlem Globetrotters in any of my postings. Thank you to whomever dreamed up this piece of publicity.

Canadian fans will have a number of opportunities to see the Harlem Globetrotters in action on their world tour. Check it out here.

Finally,, I have not received any rewards (money or tickets or merchandise); quite simply, I love the Globetrotters for their expression of joyous athleticism.

Wound healing with cellulose acetate nanofibres

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This work on cellulose acetate nanofibres and wound healing (tested on mice) comes from Egypt according to an Aug. 10, 2015 news item on ScienceDaily,

People with diabetes mellitus often suffer from impaired wound healing. Now, scientists in Egypt have developed antibacterial nanofibres of cellulose acetate loaded with silver that could be used in a new type of dressing to promote tissue repair.

An Aug. 10, 2015 Inderscience Publishers press release on the Alpha Galileo website, which originated the news item, provides more detail about the research,

Thanaa Ibrahim Shalaby and colleagues, Nivan Mahmoud Fekry, Amal Sobhy El Sodfy, Amel Gaber El Sheredy and Maisa El Sayed Sayed Ahmed Moustafa, at Alexandria University, prepared nanofibres from cellulose acetate, an inexpensive and easily fabricated, semisynthetic polymer used in everything from photographic film to coatings for eyeglasses and even cigarette filters. It can be spun into fibres and thus used to make an absorbent and safe wound dressing. Shalaby and co-workers used various analytical techniques including scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to characterise their fibres in which they incorporated silver nanoparticles.

Having characterised the material the team then successfully tested its antibacterial activity against various strains of bacteria that might infect an open wound. They next used the material as a dressing on skin wounds on mice with diabetes and determined how quickly the wound healed with and without the nano dressing. The dressing absorbs fluids exuded by the wound, but also protects the wound from infectious agents while being permeable to air and moisture, the team reports. The use of this dressing also promotes collagen production as the wound heals, which helps to recreate normal skin strength and texture something that is lacking in unassisted wound healing in diabetes mellitus.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Preparation and characterisation of antibacterial silver-containing nanofibres for wound healing in diabetic mice by Thanaa Ibrahim Shalaby; Nivan Mahmoud Fekry; Amal Sobhy El Sodfy; Amel Gaber El Sheredy; Maisa El Sayed Sayed Ahmed Moustafa. International Journal of Nanoparticles (IJNP), Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 82 2015 DOI: 10.1504/IJNP.2015.070346

This paper is behind a paywall although there are some exceptions.