Vaulting to New Heights: The Physics Behind the Jump
Christos Polycarpou
Award: Top 100
School: sleepy hollow high school
Teacher: leila madani
Category: Natural
Photo #19575
Vaulting to New Heights: The Physics Behind the Jump
Pole vaulting happens in three major parts: the runup, the plant/jump, and the swing up/fall. Part one begins with the vaulter picking up the pole and assuming the run position to reduce friction. The goal is to build as much kinetic energy as possible before the pole hits the box (a divot in the ground). As the vaulter runs, they gradually gain kinetic energy, reaching the maximum right before hitting the box.
Part two, the most crucial, takes place in a split second. As the vaulter approaches the box, they lower the pole. The pole hits the box just as the vaulter jumps, pressing their forward hand and driving their knee up. This combination of movements turns much of the kinetic energy from the run into elastic potential energy stored in the pole and gravitational potential energy.
In part three, as the vaulter's back foot leaves the ground, the pole's tension releases. The vaulter's weight and upward motion help convert the pole's elastic energy into upward thrust, launching the vaulter higher. The vaulter's legs are brought together and pushed towards the sky, transforming the stored energy into gravitational potential energy. At the peak of the jump the vaulter pushes off the pole and turns in the air to maximize there gravitational potential energy before falling back to the mat.
In short, pole vaulting is a demonstration of energy conservation: kinetic energy turns into elastic potential, then into gravitational potential, and back into kinetic energy as the vaulter falls.
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