The Physics of a Frisbee

Henry Beuving
Background

● A frisbee is a disc-shaped toy or sporting

item.
● “Frisbee” is a registered trademark, forcing
other names to be used by different
companies such as “flying disc” or “sport
disc.”
● Frisbees are generally plastic.
● An official disc is 175 grams and is 20-25
centimeters in diameter.
History

● First made of metal; too heavy to fly.

● The first plastic frisbee was invented in 1948.
● Became popular when the invention was
bought by Wham-O in 1955.
● Frisbee sold over 100 million units from
1955 to 1994.
● Frisbee bought by Mattel in 1994.
● Continues to be successful to this day,
with over 60 manufacturers selling discs. Li’l Abner’s Flyin’ Saucer
1948
 Lift

Drag

Forces on a Frisbee
Gravity

Direction of travel
Thrust
● Thrust is the force that moves the disc in the
direction of its motion.
● This force is created by the thrower pulling
the disc in the direction they want it to go.
● Thrust is being applied only during the pull; it
is not being applied while in flight like the
other forces.
● Thrust in different directions or magnitude
can change the flight path of the disc
differently than a normal object.
Lift
● Lift is the force that makes a frisbee float
in the air.
● Lift generated by a frisbee can be
explained by Bernoulli’s Principle.
● States that an increase in the velocity of
the air around a frisbee results in lower
pressure above the disc and higher
pressure below the disc.
● This causes the frisbee to be forced
upwards.
Gravity & Drag

● The force of gravity exceeds the force of lift,

ag
Dr

causing the disc to have downward

+
ity
av
Gr

acceleration.
● The force of drag acts as a resistant force on
the disc
● Drag is perpendicular to lift
● Acts against the disc’s movement
Direction of travel
Aerodynamics
Airfoil
● Frisbees are designed as a disc with a lip on the bottom.
● The top of a frisbee is a curved, aerodynamic shape while the bottom of
the frisbee catches and slows down the wind around it.
● Bernoulli’s Principle states that faster
moving fluid has a lower pressure than
slower moving fluid.
● According to this principle, the faster air
at the top creates an area of low pressure
and the slower air creates an area of high
pressure
Airfoil cont.

● Again, the force of lift is caused by

this high and low pressure difference
from Bernoulli’s Principle
● The airfoil, or aerodynamic design of
a frisbee is similar to that of an Airfoil of a plane Airfoil of a frisbee

airplane.
● The top of a plane is a curved aerodynamic shape that increases the
velocity of the wind around it, while the bottom is flat.
Gyroscopic Precession
Stability

● When a frisbee is thrown well, it will not wobble or

flip in the air.
● This is a result of gyroscopic precession.
● When a mass rotates it has angular momentum,
which makes the object tend towards its middle
point.
● This phenomena is called the conservation of
angular momentum
Stability cont.

● Discs cannot fly without a spin on them.

● If a non spinning disc was thrown, it would be flipped over from air getting
caught on the top or bottom and quickly fall to the ground.
● When spin is applied to a frisbee, the air
caught under the disc generates lift
instead of flipping it upside down.
● Spin can be applied by pulling the back of
the disc to the front while releasing, or by
flicking the wrist as the disc is released.
Bibliography

● Bellis, M. (2016, August 13). The history of the frisbee. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-frisbee-4072561
● Morrison, V. R. (2005, April 6). The physics of frisbee. Retrieved from
http://scripts.mit.edu/~womens-ult/frisbee_physics.pdf
● O'Neill, C. (1988, March 1). How do frisbees fly? Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1988/03/01/how-do-f
risbees-fly/84dd5c20-a14a-48f4-bcdc-e98e7fb8486d/?utm_term=.afc137d81fee
● Craig, G. (1997). Stop abusing Bernoulli! How airplanes really fly. Retrieved from
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Fluids/airfoil.html
Bibliography cont.

● Anderson, D. (1999, February). How airplanes fly: A physical description of lift.

Retrieved from http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/airflylvl3.htm
● Scodary, A. (2007, October 30). The aerodynamics and stability of flying discs.
Retrieved from http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2007/ph210/scodary1/
● Motoyama, E. (2002, December 13). The physics of flying discs. Retrieved from
http://people.csail.mit.edu/jrennie/discgolf/physics.pdf
● Hunt, H. (2009, October). A spinning top. Retrieved from
http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hemh1/gyroscopes/spinningtop.htm