#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Of COURSE it would be useful to actually correct the tweet! Not a ton, and perhaps not meaningfully in terms of the national debate, but I mean, if there's some attention brought to the fact that BB is actually legit on the science, that would be something. Jesus Christ. Do it.

 

[mwonow]

 
I think it would help - not with the crazies/haters, but with some minority of fans who want another reason to move on to the game.
 
It would also help with Tyson's public image. With the Christmas thing, he came across as a slightly higher-brow version of a Kardashian, trolling for attention - with this, it looks like he isn't much of a scientist, either. A forthright correction might help on both scores...

 

Kim Kardashian throws her support behind the Patriots
 
 
http://nesn.com/2015/01/kim-kardashian-pulling-for-patriots-in-super-bowl-has-take-on-deflategate/
 
And the circus continues. 

 
 
Kardashian references in back-to-back but unrelated posts. This thread continues to amaze...

 

[redsoxcentury]

Kim Kardashian throws her support behind the Patriots
 
 
http://nesn.com/2015/01/kim-kardashian-pulling-for-patriots-in-super-bowl-has-take-on-deflategate/
 
And the circus continues. 

it is sad that her take was much more reasonable than most of the talking heads out there.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Kim Karsashian (or whichever one was in that article) had a more thoughtful take than NDT...she at least recognized there was uncertainty about the situation.

The mind boggles...

 

[dcmissle]

I was pretty worked up about this story for a while but now that Wells has told us that the investigation will take weeks, I'm a lot more relaxed.
 
That statement tells me (1) there will be no discipline before the Super Bowl, (2) the Patriots players and coaches can prepare for the game without dealing with the potential of a penalty that would screw them up, and (3) the possibility of a retroactive disqualification seems beyond remote.
 
Given all that, there is really no doomsday scenario and the only remaining worry I have is around whether IdiotGate will somehow impact their overall mindset and preparation in a negative way.  And while that's possible, it seems to me that if anything it will galvanize them.
 
As to the rest of it, I say "meh."  The Haters are going to discredit the Pats no matter what.  I hate the CHB something fierce but he was right today.  The national audience is going to call the Pats cheaters and hate them regardless of what happens next, and Pats fans will love them.  There could be total exoneration, nothing consequential or something else that isn't damning, and those outside of Patriots Fandom are going to say moronic things like "well, they taped the walk through...."  (Thanks, Tomase, you piece of crap.)
 
Bottom line, our Pats are in the Super Bowl, no amount of sad Ravens fans is going to change that, and whatever penalties get imposed will be after the fact and will not affect this game directly.  And our team's legacy will be reduced for the immediate future in the minds of the opportunists and haters but screw them anyway.
 
All that's left to do is relax and get ready to watch the Patriots rip the Seahawks to shreds.

I obviously don't know who your sources were and would never ask. But your reports beginning with the possible game suspension for BB struck me instinctively as accurate, and I think as this has unfolded we have a pretty clear picture of a League office out of control and a Commissioner over his head.

This would never have happened under Tagliabue. It certainly would not have happened under Rozelle.

I will be interested to see if the back story ever comes out, and how close to a suspension we came. Thankfully, somebody finally grabbed Goodell by the lapels, and Kraft in time understood the danger we were in. I think this explains the twin press conferences on Thursday, BB's extraordinary event Saturday afternoon and Kraft yesterday.

And even now, they have not fully stopped the leaking.

 

[slowstrung]

 My 6 year old has already had adults give him a hard time for rooting for cheaters.

I've read almost the entire thread and this is one of the few parts that isn't hilarious. What assholes.

Also, why the fuck does this country rely on NDT and fucking Bill Nye as the voices of the scientific community. Let's just bring out Levar Burton for a Reading Rainbow special on the NFL rulebook already.

 

[BoneForYourJar]

Kim Kardashian throws her support behind the Patriots
 
 
http://nesn.com/2015/01/kim-kardashian-pulling-for-patriots-in-super-bowl-has-take-on-deflategate/
 
And the circus continues. 

Here comes the rear guard!!

 

[PedroKsBambino]

I obviously don't know who your sources were and would never ask. But your reports beginning with the possible game suspension for BB struck me instinctively as accurate, and I think as this has unfolded we have a pretty clear picture of a League office out of control and a Commissioner over his head.

This would never have happened under Tagliabue. It certainly would not have happened under Rozelle.

I will be interested to see if the back story ever comes out, and how close to a suspension we came. Thankfully, somebody finally grabbed Goodell by the lapels, and Kraft in time understood the danger we were in. I think this explains the twin press conferences on Thursday, BB's extraordinary event Saturday afternoon and Kraft yesterday.

And even now, they have not fully stopped the leaking.

 
I have zero inside knowledge on this one, just speculating.   That acknwledged, given the subsequent strong statement from Kraft i would imagine if he heard about possibility of a suspension he would have told Goodell that the Patriots will not be showing up in Glendale without BB/Brady, and Goodell can try to figure out how to manage that situation.
 
Wouldn't shock me if one driver of Wells coming in was Kraft threatening something like that.  He is pissed, he is right to be pissed, and he has the cards here.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

 
Do you honestly think it would be a substantial help if Neil Tyson posted a correction?  If so, I might be able to make it happen.  I haven't because I assume it wouldn't actually matter.

 
I do think so very much, because I think it would reinforce the concept that these are difficult matters and this is not a matter for reflexive thinking.  I agree that the crazies and haters don't care, but there is going to be a time when serious people debate this, even if they are the minority, and it would be nice if they understand the debate.
 
Moreover, Tyson is nationally revered in part for his healthy skepticism and dedication to getting it right -- it would be nice if he were to apply that mentality to his own stuff.  As silly as all this is in the scheme of things, the number of times when non scientists will pay attention to science is low, and it would be nice to have a first hand intro to how scientists think and operate and their willingness to question their own assumptions and conclusions.

 

[Leather]

it is sad that her take was much more reasonable than most of the talking heads out there.

 
Kardashian has experience with the media blowing nothing up into something.

 

[westneat]

So I've played around with the physics a little bit. Turns out, I think NDT and Bill Nye are correct in their calculations.
 
Here is where I think some posters in this thread have messed up:
 
Say the ref's room is 75 degrees or 297K. And the halftime temp is 45 degrees or 280K. That gives us a ratio of 280/297 or .94. So the absolute temperature dropped by about 6%. This much everyone agrees with.
 
The balls have a gauge pressure of 12.5 PSI, and atmospheric pressure is (on average) 14.7 PSI. That gives the balls an absolute PSI of about 27.2. Take out the 6% due to the temperature drop, and we have a new absolute ball pressure of 25.6, or a difference of 1.6 PSI. This is the figure that people on SOSH have been quoting as correct. But it's not, because we still have to convert the ball's absolute pressure back to gauge pressure.
 
We can't simply subtract 14.7, because the atmospheric pressure has ALSO dropped due to the temperature change. The new atmospheric pressure will be 13.8. Subtract that from 25.6 and you get the ball's new guage pressure of 11.8. So we can only explain a change of .7 PSI due to temperature alone, which is exactly the numbers Bill and NDT quoted.

 

[Freddy Linn]

Years ago I was cleaning out my closet and listed a small stack of 1958 Topps football cards on eBay. High bid: $28. Within minutes of the auction closing I received an email from the winning bidder, asking about shipping and whether I'd take a personal check for payment.
 
The winning bidder?
 
Bill Belichick.
 
Belichick, then an assistant with the New York Jets, explained that he was collecting the football cards of coaches he'd worked under. Included in my auction lot was a 1958 Ted Marchibroda Chicago Cardinals card that Belichick coveted. The rest were spare parts.
 

 
Thought this was a neat anecdote, from the Oregonian.

 

[lexrageorge]

So I've played around with the physics a little bit. Turns out, I think NDT and Bill Nye are correct in their calculations.
 
Here is where I think some posters in this thread have messed up:
 
Say the ref's room is 75 degrees or 297K. And the halftime temp is 45 degrees or 280K. That gives us a ratio of 280/297 or .94. So the absolute temperature dropped by about 6%. This much everyone agrees with.
 
The balls have a gauge pressure of 12.5 PSI, and atmospheric pressure is (on average) 14.7 PSI. That gives the balls an absolute PSI of about 27.2. Take out the 6% due to the temperature drop, and we have a new absolute ball pressure of 25.6, or a difference of 1.6 PSI. This is the figure that people on SOSH have been quoting as correct. But it's not, because we still have to convert the ball's absolute pressure back to gauge pressure.
 
We can't simply subtract 14.7, because the atmospheric pressure has ALSO dropped due to the temperature change. The new atmospheric pressure will be 13.8. Subtract that from 25.6 and you get the ball's new guage pressure of 11.8. So we can only explain a change of .7 PSI due to temperature alone, which is exactly the numbers Bill and NDT quoted.

Atmospheric pressure does not change from 14.7 to 13.8; instead, it remains nearly constant.  Nearly all the pressure loss is gauge pressure.  

 

[mauidano]

Adam Kilgore in WP takes aim at Godell and the NFL:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2015/01/26/tired-of-patriots-locker-room-attendants-and-deflategate-blame-the-nfl/

Hey look! A "Kilgore" as the voice of reason!

 

[snowmanny]

So I've played around with the physics a little bit. Turns out, I think NDT and Bill Nye are correct in their calculations.
 
Here is where I think some posters in this thread have messed up:
 
Say the ref's room is 75 degrees or 297K. And the halftime temp is 45 degrees or 280K. That gives us a ratio of 280/297 or .94. So the absolute temperature dropped by about 6%. This much everyone agrees with.
 
The balls have a gauge pressure of 12.5 PSI, and atmospheric pressure is (on average) 14.7 PSI. That gives the balls an absolute PSI of about 27.2. Take out the 6% due to the temperature drop, and we have a new absolute ball pressure of 25.6, or a difference of 1.6 PSI. This is the figure that people on SOSH have been quoting as correct. But it's not, because we still have to convert the ball's absolute pressure back to gauge pressure.
 
We can't simply subtract 14.7, because the atmospheric pressure has ALSO dropped due to the temperature change. The new atmospheric pressure will be 13.8. Subtract that from 25.6 and you get the ball's new guage pressure of 11.8. So we can only explain a change of .7 PSI due to temperature alone, which is exactly the numbers Bill and NDT quoted.

SumnerH, on 21 Jan 2015 - 08:36 AM, said:
 
By my calculations*:
70F to 40F you'd go from 13 PSI to 11.43 PSI (27.7 to 26.13 PSI real pressure), or about 1.5 PSI lost.
70F to 50F you'd go from 13 PSI to 11.94 PSI (27.7 to 26.64 PSI real pressure), or about 1 PSI lost.
 
Note that the nominal pressure of a ball is really shorthand for "X PSI above the normal atmospheric pressure".    Normal atmospheric pressure is about 14.7 PSI; a ball that was measured at "13 PSI" was really at 27.7 PSI of total pressure**.  If it lost 2 PSI of pressure, then it went from 27.7 PSI to 25.7 PSI of total pressure: about a 7% loss.
 
For everyone doing the calculation, that difference is crucial.   If you throw 13 PSI into a Combined Gas Law Calculator for the pressure and then vary the temperature, you'll underestimate the effect of temperature significantly and come to the conclusion that the ball only loses about 0.4 PSI from the 70 to 50F change rather than something more like 1 full PSI.
 
*http://www.calculato...ned gas law.htm double checked at http://www.1728.org/combined.htm
**If it were actually 13 PSI, it'd be lower pressure than the surrounding air--when you opened the valve, it'd suck in air rather than spewing air out.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

So I've played around with the physics a little bit. Turns out, I think NDT and Bill Nye are correct in their calculations.
 
Here is where I think some posters in this thread have messed up:
 
Say the ref's room is 75 degrees or 297K. And the halftime temp is 45 degrees or 280K. That gives us a ratio of 280/297 or .94. So the absolute temperature dropped by about 6%. This much everyone agrees with.
 
The balls have a gauge pressure of 12.5 PSI, and atmospheric pressure is (on average) 14.7 PSI. That gives the balls an absolute PSI of about 27.2. Take out the 6% due to the temperature drop, and we have a new absolute ball pressure of 25.6, or a difference of 1.6 PSI. This is the figure that people on SOSH have been quoting as correct. But it's not, because we still have to convert the ball's absolute pressure back to gauge pressure.
 
We can't simply subtract 14.7, because the atmospheric pressure has ALSO dropped due to the temperature change. The new atmospheric pressure will be 13.8. Subtract that from 25.6 and you get the ball's new guage pressure of 11.8. So we can only explain a change of .7 PSI due to temperature alone, which is exactly the numbers Bill and NDT quoted.

 
I'm not the Mona Lisa Vito of meteorology, but I don't think atmospheric pressure changes regularly with temperature in the way that you're assuming.

 

[Sportsbstn]

The Patriots gave this video to the NFL.  The idea that someone in 90 seconds could deflate these balls is absurd.  Yes, I think we are at the point where the Patriots are trolling the NFL and media.

 

[C4CRVT]

So I've played around with the physics a little bit. Turns out, I think NDT and Bill Nye are correct in their calculations.
 
Here is where I think some posters in this thread have messed up:
 
Say the ref's room is 75 degrees or 297K. And the halftime temp is 45 degrees or 280K. That gives us a ratio of 280/297 or .94. So the absolute temperature dropped by about 6%. This much everyone agrees with.
 
The balls have a gauge pressure of 12.5 PSI, and atmospheric pressure is (on average) 14.7 PSI. That gives the balls an absolute PSI of about 27.2. Take out the 6% due to the temperature drop, and we have a new absolute ball pressure of 25.6, or a difference of 1.6 PSI. This is the figure that people on SOSH have been quoting as correct. But it's not, because we still have to convert the ball's absolute pressure back to gauge pressure.
 
We can't simply subtract 14.7, because the atmospheric pressure has ALSO dropped due to the temperature change. The new atmospheric pressure will be 13.8. Subtract that from 25.6 and you get the ball's new guage pressure of 11.8. So we can only explain a change of .7 PSI due to temperature alone, which is exactly the numbers Bill and NDT quoted.

Dude, you're like the 20,000th person to get this wrong. Check page 1 of this thread. Sumnerh, ideal gas law, yadda yadda.
 

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

So I've played around with the physics a little bit. Turns out, I think NDT and Bill Nye are correct in their calculations.
 
Here is where I think some posters in this thread have messed up:
 
Say the ref's room is 75 degrees or 297K. And the halftime temp is 45 degrees or 280K. That gives us a ratio of 280/297 or .94. So the absolute temperature dropped by about 6%. This much everyone agrees with.
 
The balls have a gauge pressure of 12.5 PSI, and atmospheric pressure is (on average) 14.7 PSI. That gives the balls an absolute PSI of about 27.2. Take out the 6% due to the temperature drop, and we have a new absolute ball pressure of 25.6, or a difference of 1.6 PSI. This is the figure that people on SOSH have been quoting as correct. But it's not, because we still have to convert the ball's absolute pressure back to gauge pressure.
 
We can't simply subtract 14.7, because the atmospheric pressure has ALSO dropped due to the temperature change. The new atmospheric pressure will be 13.8. Subtract that from 25.6 and you get the ball's new guage pressure of 11.8. So we can only explain a change of .7 PSI due to temperature alone, which is exactly the numbers Bill and NDT quoted.

 
So, atmospheric pressure is not constant?  What atmospheric pressure matters -- is it the pressure of the air outside the ball or the pressure of the air inside the balls?
 
If the balls were measured indoors both times, would the atmospheric pressure stay constant -- in other words, are you assuming that the balls were measured outdoors in the second time?  
 
Or are you saying that the temperature of the air inside the balls is necessary to calculate atmospheric pressure.  
 
I'm pretty sure I asked very early on in this deabte whether atmospheric pressure stays constant, or at least I thought that was a key question, and I thought the answer was affirmative.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

Dude, you're like the 20th person to get this wrong. Check page 1 of this thread. Sumnerh, absolute pressure.
 

 
He's making a different point than the previous wrong point,

 

[SumnerH]

We can't simply subtract 14.7, because the atmospheric pressure has ALSO dropped due to the temperature change.

No, it hasn't. The atmosphere isn't in a constrained volume, and the majority of atmospheric pressure comes from air that's well above ground level and not shifting temperatures at all.

If the air pressure on the field were really 6% lower than in the locker room, air would immediately rush from the locker room to equalize it.

Here's a typical isomap of the US. You can see that air pressure variation isn't correlated with temperature, and that even +/- 1% is a pretty huge difference. 6% would have crazy tornados and hurricanes happening, or something.

 

[westneat]

Dude, you're like the 20th person to get this wrong. Check page 1 of this thread. Sumnerh, absolute pressure.
 

 
If you actually read the post you would see that absolute pressure is included.
 
lexrageorge posted a good rebuttal. And it's true, the earth's pressure wouldn't necessarily change due to temperature because the volume is not fixed.
 
However, the atmospheric pressure in the referee's locker room WOULD be higher than the pressure outside on the field because they are indoors in a heated area.

 

[SumnerH]

So, atmospheric pressure is not constant?  What atmospheric pressure matters -- is it the pressure of the air outside the ball or the pressure of the air inside the balls?

It isn't quite constant, but the fluctuations aren't from inside to outside with temperature; they're with weather fronts moving through. 14.7 is an approximation, you'd want the exact numbers at start of game and halftime to be really precise, but the practical impact is small (it might be 0.1 PSI, but it's not a half PSI).

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

 
However, the atmospheric pressure in the referee's locker room WOULD be higher than the pressure outside on the field because they are indoors in a heated area.

 
But what if the balls were measured in that same environment, just before the air inside the balls on the second measurement had warmed?  Is it constant then?

 

[C4CRVT]

Carry on then, smart people

 

[westneat]

 
But what if the balls were measured in that same environment, just before the air inside the balls on the second measurement had warmed?  Is it constant then?

 
I don't know, I'm not an expert by any means. But I would like to make sure before I try and call out someone like NDT on physics that I've got it absolutely right.

 

[speedracer]

Seriously, we reached the point long ago where the only reasonable rebuttal to Belichick's/HeadSmart's claims is for somebody to do the actual goddamn experiment and report differing results.

 

[SumnerH]

However, the atmospheric pressure in the referee's locker room WOULD be higher than the pressure outside on the field because they are indoors in a heated area.

No, it isn't. Gas moves virtually instantaneously to equilibrium when it's not constrained; if there were higher pressure in the locker room, gas would immediately flow out to equalize it.

 

[Yore]

Surprised nobody put the video of Austin Powers peering, that was a solid 90 seconds and he was frozen for 30 years...

 
 
http://youtu.be/GRx0bup8ubM

 

 

[lexrageorge]

 
If you actually read the post you would see that absolute pressure is included.
 
lexrageorge posted a good rebuttal. And it's true, the earth's pressure wouldn't necessarily change due to temperature because the volume is not fixed.
 
However, the atmospheric pressure in the referee's locker room WOULD be higher than the pressure outside on the field because they are indoors in a heated area.

Rooms and buildings are nowhere near as airtight as inflated footballs.  Therefore, the atmospheric pressure indoors is considered the same as that outdoors, at least as far as these calculations are concerned.  

 

[westneat]

No, it isn't. Gas moves virtually instantaneously to equilibrium when it's not constrained; if there were higher pressure in the locker room, gas would immediately flow out to equalize it.

 
Alright, I'm sold.
 
Carry on the good fight.

 

[SumnerH]

I don't know, I'm not an expert by any means. But I would like to make sure before I try and call out someone like NDT on physics that I've got it absolutely right.

Wait for a cold day, grab a barometer, take it inside your house, get a reading, and then take it outside.

 

[DJnVa]

If anyone feels like banging their head against a wall on twitter, go read @codiki

 

[Leather]

No, it isn't. Gas moves virtually instantaneously to equilibrium when it's not constrained; if there were higher pressure in the locker room, gas would immediately flow out to equalize it.

 
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is why pressure cookers only work if you keep a lid on them:  if you open the lid, the pressure equalizes, even though it is still a lot hotter inside the cooker than a foot away.
 
So the room with the Refs would have to be sealed from the outside for the pressure to be materially different.

 

[Harry Hooper]

Rooms and buildings are nowhere near as airtight as inflated footballs.  Therefore, the atmospheric pressure indoors is considered the same as that outdoors, at least as far as these calculations are concerned.  

 
 
You have to sink a lot of money into building a "clean room" with positive pressure such as in semiconductor fabrication facilities.

 

[SumnerH]

So the room with the Refs would have to be sealed from the outside

The way things are going, I could get behind this.

 

[DJnVa]

If this is all they have, a 90 second bathroom trip, with no video, this thing is over unless the guy admits something.
 
This is only taking longer because Wells is waiting until after SB to talk to Brady. And when Brady says "I have no fucking idea" this will end with a whimper.

 

[Gagliano]

No, it isn't. Gas moves virtually instantaneously to equilibrium when it's not constrained; if there were higher pressure in the locker room, gas would immediately flow out to equalize it.

Actually, modern HVAC systems manipulate the interior air pressure for various reasons (keeping dry air out, moist air out of walls, making a positive pressure for smokestacks and exhausts in factories....). It's unlikely that it had much of an effect on the footballs, but in any building with a climate controlled interior, it will be common to feel a whoosh of air going either in or out when opening a door to the exterior. Even years ago before computer controlled systems, elaborate ductworks and dampers were designed to control the interior pressure.

I'm in a factory right now, and if I see the plant engineer I'll see what the static pressure is. I know it's positive, but not by how much.

 

[Sportsbstn]

Have there been confirmations that this was actually a Patriots employee to begin with?  I keep seeing conflicting information that he is paid by the NFL, not the Pats

 

[C4CRVT]

Even if the building was incredibly well sealed and had designed pressurization system, wouldn't the air pressure indoors equalize virtually instantaneously with the doors opening constantly on game day? I would think so.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

If this is all they have, a 90 second bathroom trip, with no video, this thing is over unless the guy admits something.

Is this the point in the story where some nutbag Peeping Tom comes forward to save the day?

 

[johnmd20]

If anyone feels like banging their head against a wall on twitter, go read @codiki

 
Why did you do this to me? WHYYYYYY?

 

[AardsmaToZupcic]

 
If you actually read the post you would see that absolute pressure is included.
 
lexrageorge posted a good rebuttal. And it's true, the earth's pressure wouldn't necessarily change due to temperature because the volume is not fixed.
 
However, the atmospheric pressure in the referee's locker room WOULD be higher than the pressure outside on the field because they are indoors in a heated area.

If the ref's Measured the ball's on the field at anytime we would have seen video of it by now, with ALL the TV camera's, cell phone's, GoPro's etc this video would have been seen.
I think it is safe to assume (Yea yea I know) that all measurements would have taken place inside.

 

[TomTerrific]

I was pretty worked up about this story for a while but now that Wells has told us that the investigation will take weeks, I'm a lot more relaxed.
 
That statement tells me (1) there will be no discipline before the Super Bowl, (2) the Patriots players and coaches can prepare for the game without dealing with the potential of a penalty that would screw them up, and (3) the possibility of a retroactive disqualification seems beyond remote.
 
Given all that, there is really no doomsday scenario and the only remaining worry I have is around whether IdiotGate will somehow impact their overall mindset and preparation in a negative way.  And while that's possible, it seems to me that if anything it will galvanize them.
 
As to the rest of it, I say "meh."  The Haters are going to discredit the Pats no matter what.  I hate the CHB something fierce but he was right today.  The national audience is going to call the Pats cheaters and hate them regardless of what happens next, and Pats fans will love them.  There could be total exoneration, nothing consequential or something else that isn't damning, and those outside of Patriots Fandom are going to say moronic things like "well, they taped the walk through...."  (Thanks, Tomase, you piece of crap.)
 
Bottom line, our Pats are in the Super Bowl, no amount of sad Ravens fans is going to change that, and whatever penalties get imposed will be after the fact and will not affect this game directly.  And our team's legacy will be reduced for the immediate future in the minds of the opportunists and haters but screw them anyway.
 
All that's left to do is relax and get ready to watch the Patriots rip the Seahawks to shreds.

 
TS, this is a good take. While the sheer idiocy out there bothers me, we've avoided the nuclear options that were there earlier, and at least I can talk myself into the idea that the team will be energized by the unwarranted hate and the support BB and Kraft have shown.
 
I'm going to a quick Thurs-Sat trip to Chicago (no worries, back here for the SB) and, when not in meetings, will be wearing my Pats Hat. Just to piss people off.

 

[Salem's Lot]

Is this the point in the story where some nutbag Peeping Tom comes forward to save the day?

 
"BUT EVERY SCOTTISH PERSON DOES IT"

 

[TomTerrific]

Actually, modern HVAC systems manipulate the interior air pressure for various reasons (keeping dry air out, moist air out of walls, making a positive pressure for smokestacks and exhausts in factories....). It's unlikely that it had much of an effect on the footballs, but in any building with a climate controlled interior, it will be common to feel a whoosh of air going either in or out when opening a door to the exterior. Even years ago before computer controlled systems, elaborate ductworks and dampers were designed to control the interior pressure.

I'm in a factory right now, and if I see the plant engineer I'll see what the static pressure is. I know it's positive, but not by how much.

 
I'm glad your going to check this, but a second's thought should convince you that most buildings cannot withstand much pressure differential at all. I'll bet large sums the difference is miniscule.
 
EDIT: The weakest link would be the windows of course, just as windows are the first things blown out by the pressure differential induced by tornadoes

 

[mwonow]

Actually, modern HVAC systems manipulate the interior air pressure for various reasons (keeping dry air out, moist air out of walls, making a positive pressure for smokestacks and exhausts in factories....). It's unlikely that it had much of an effect on the footballs, but in any building with a climate controlled interior, it will be common to feel a whoosh of air going either in or out when opening a door to the exterior. Even years ago before computer controlled systems, elaborate ductworks and dampers were designed to control the interior pressure.

I'm in a factory right now, and if I see the plant engineer I'll see what the static pressure is. I know it's positive, but not by how much.

 
You're reading this thread in a factory? Good god - no wonder people who don't follow sports worry about productivity!   :blink:

 

[Sportsbstn]

He's a local employee hired by the Pats. His check comes from the NFL.

 
ah ok, thanks

 

[geoffm33]

If the ref's Measured the ball's on the field at anytime we would have seen video of it by now, with ALL the TV camera's, cell phone's, GoPro's etc this video would have been seen.
I think it is safe to assume (Yea yea I know) that all measurements would have taken place inside.

I would love to see a 45F equillabrated ball with a gauge inserted brought inside to 75F and set in a time lapse to show the pressure increase over time.

 

[pappymojo]

ah, poor baby, he can't answer a few questions that make him a bit uneasy

He made no comment. He said this. Here is a quote from him