Regarding the letter, “Weather at work, not conspiracy”: As a humble chemical engineer, I take issue with the esteemed professor emeritus regarding Deflategate. His premise is correct, i.e., temperature affects pressure, however, the calculations and conclusion are wrong.
1. Using his numbers from “near 70 degrees … somewhere close to freezing.” A 35-40 degree F drop in temperature will not drop the pressure in the ball 2 PSI. Pressure drops 2 percent for every 10 degree F drop in temperature. A 35-40 degree F reduction in air temperature will drop the air pressure 7.5 percent or 0.94 PSI for a football inflated to 12.5 PSI, not 2 PSI as stated.
2. The balls were measured at halftime inside, not on the cold field, and found to be at least 2 PSI or more below the 12.5 PSI minimum threshold for 11 of the 12 balls. Granted, the balls may not have stabilized back to 70 F, they were way under-inflated. More than can be influenced by temperature alone.
3. These same balls were inflated to the proper pressure and returned to the game for the second half. When re-measured after the game they were the same pressure. They had not changed at all vs. what they found (less than 2 PSI) after the first half.
4. The balls used by the Colts were also checked during halftime and after the game and they were all in specification.
The Patriots cheated and got caught. I would wager this was not the first time they pulled this stunt.
I couldn’t care less what the NFL does with these guys. The bottom line is the message has been sent to New England. Let’s put it behind us, move on and play the game. That’s why we are there.
Michael Barmuta
Everett
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