17th January 2014
GCSE Chemistry: Chemistry in Cricket
Everything in cricket uses chemistry. Without chemistry there would be no cricket. Cricket is one of the best sports in the world, and everything about it has been improved or developed by the work of scientists.
Cricket bats
Cricket bats have always been traditionally made from English Willow, and this is thanks to the power of chemistry. Soon after the creation of the sport scientists performed simple but effective experiments to identify the most effective wood in terms of striking power. English willow was deemed the most effective, followed closely by Kashmir willow. The Home of Cricket became the Home of the Cricket (Bat).
Cricket bats
Cricket bats have always been traditionally made from English Willow, and this is thanks to the power of chemistry. Soon after the creation of the sport scientists performed simple but effective experiments to identify the most effective wood in terms of striking power. English willow was deemed the most effective, followed closely by Kashmir willow. The Home of Cricket became the Home of the Cricket (Bat).
Cricket balls
Cricket balls are made of three different layers. The centre of a cricket ball is made of a ball of cork. This ball of cork is the part of the cricket ball that has been purely tested and manufactured by scientists. The cork in a cricket ball is drastically different to the corks found in wine bottles. Firstly, the cork in a cricket ball is around 3 or 4 times denser than that of wine bottle corks. To achieve this scientists have to create the cork in special conditions to prevent too many air filled gaps in the cork. Also, the material used to make the cork for cricket balls is ever so slightly different from that of wine bottles; however the differences caused are drastic. Wine bottle corks are made of bark tissue (just like a cricket balls), however wine bottle corks also contain more suberin (a hydrophobic, rubbery substance) than the cork in cricket balls. If chemists had not invented suberin then we would not have the cricket ball we have today.
Artificial Cricket surfaces
Artificial cricket surfaces usually comprise of three layers, but sometimes even four layers are used. Usually the base layer is a slab of concrete covered with a coir mat and then a layer of artificial turf. If a more authentic feel wants to be achieved, then the fourth layer is a coating of dirt to cover the artificial materials underneath. The chemistry comes into the production of the coir matting. Coir is the natural fibre that can be extracted from the husk of a coconut. To extract this fibre from the husk, chemists had to design a machine or method that would be the most effective or fastest method of extraction. Depending on the type of coir required, there are two mains methods that are used to separate the fibres from the husks. The fastest method is used only when brown fibres need to be ‘harvested’, and this method involves driving the coconuts onto a spike to split them. If this is performed manually a maximum of 2,000 coconuts can be split every day. However, if the machines designed by scientists are used then a maximum of 2,000 coconuts can be separated every hour. White fibres are harvested from younger coconuts and require a significantly longer and more strenuous process. First the coconuts are suspended in a river or water-filled pit for up to 10 months. This soaking process hydrates the husks and starts to break up the fibres, loosening them. This process is known as retting. A machine then beats the hydrated husks to further loosen and break up the fibres. The fibres are then cleaned and dried (usually on rocks in view of the sun). Cricket mats usually use coir mats made from brown fibres. Brown coir is usually used because it is not as springy as white coir. Without the machines designed by scientists the process of creating coir would be significantly lower and we would have fewer artificial cricket mats.
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