Why are golf balls covered in dimples

A.� It's all down to aerodynamics. The dimples help reduce the drag that previously smooth golf balls experienced on their way through the air. And since a hole in one is the ultimate goal for the golfer the advantages of dimpled balls were seized upon.

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Q.� So, golf balls didn't always have dimples

A.� No they used to be regular smooth balls. However golfers must have noticed that older, more pitted and scratched balls travelled farther towards the hole. Not wanting to waste this potential advantage to their game, dimpled golf balls, a neater version of the beat up old golf ball, were introduced.

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Q.� How do the dimples improve the golf balls aerodynism

A.� The dimples act as turbulators, inducing turbulence in the boundary layer, a layer of air next to the ball. A turbulent boundary layer can reduce the drag on an object as it pass through the air.

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Q.� The turbulent boundary layer How many layers of air does a golf ball have

A.� Two: air flows around an object in two layers: the laminar and turbulent flow.

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Q.� And the turbulent boundary flow crates the least drag

A.� No, actually laminar flow creates the least drag, however, it's not quite that simple. Along with less drag laminar flow is also subject to something known as separation.

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Once the laminar boundary layer becomes separated from an object then the amount of drag it experiences greatly increases because of the gap between the object and the air flowing around it.

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Turbulent flow of air around an object is better at ensuring that the airflow is as close to the objects surface as possible. It starts off with more drag but because it adheres to the object better it is less prone to separation. So it's better to turbulate the boundary layer in certain circumstances, which is what a golf ball's dimples do.

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by Lisa Cardy