Back to Show
NOVA
Why Kicking a Field Goal is Harder Than it Looks
Kicking a field goal seems pretty straightforward: you just kick the ball as hard as you can between the goal posts at the back of the end zone. But if it were that easy, then kickers would almost never miss. Join physicist Tim Gay and semi-pro football kicker Hermes Lima as they explain all the factors that go into kicking a successful field goal.
Support Provided By
53:16
Sir David Attenborough explores a site with traces of ancient mammoths and Neanderthals.
53:30
In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:21
Intrepid paleontologists discover that dinosaurs thrived in the Arctic’s cold and dark.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:28
Take a tasty look at insect foods that could benefit our health and our warming planet.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:28
Join the hunt for the universe’s most common—yet most elusive and baffling—particle.
53:36
As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA explores its little-known risks and benefits.
53:46
NASA launches its most ambitious search yet for traces of ancient life on Mars.
53:32
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.
53:30
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.