Science Lessons Nebraska's Randy Stella leaps to block a Kansas State punt. Click to watch University of Nebraska physicist Timothy J. Gay's one-minute explanations of the physics of football, from punts to spirals to crushing tackles.
Fans learn about physics at halftime in Nebraska.
The fans also learn that during the course of a game, the two teams exert enough energy to lift an iron girder two miles into the air. This is not your typical halftime show. At each of the six Nebraska home games this fall, Gay has provided a minute-long video mini lecture about the physics of football. The idea originated with the athletic department, which produces the programming for the jumbo screens. When she went to the physics department office to ask who might be interested in the project, the secretaries immediately sent her to Gay's office.