Short · Sports and motion

How do you throw a perfect spiral?

Name: How do you throw a perfect spiral?
Uploaded: 2026-10-11
Duration: PT33.64S
Description: A spinning football is a gyroscope. Every throw starts with a little wobble; with enough spin, about ten turns a second, it shrinks into a tight spiral and the nose follows the arc.

A spinning football is a gyroscope. Every throw starts with a little wobble; with enough spin, about ten turns a second, it shrinks into a tight spiral and the nose follows the arc.

Try it yourself

Opens Spiral Lab. Change the same thing yourself.

Narrated · 34 seconds · captions includedDownload the film

Keep exploring

Up next

InteractiveSpiral LabChange the same thing yourself.Try it yourself
0:34Short · SkyWhy does Mars seem to move backward?
0:33Short · MotionWhy do skaters spin faster with their arms in?

Transcript

How do you throw a perfect spiral? Spin it. A football spinning around its long axis acts like a gyroscope: it resists tipping. Every throw has a little wobble from the release. With too little spin, that wobble takes over, and you get a duck. Now crank the spin to about ten turns a second. The same shaky release shrinks into a tight spiral, and the air steers the nose over to follow the arc. Try it yourself at Explainer Tools dot com.