Finally, we have some answers.
First, I will give a quick explanation of what happened... No, there is too much. Let me sum up:
The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 in the AFC championship game. The footballs that Patriots were using got air added to them by the officials at half time because they "were under-inflated by about 2 pounds per square inch, ESPN reported. Regulation pressure is 12.5 - 13.5 psi"(link). After the game, the media slammed the Patriots because of the deflated footballs, saying they cheated and tried to get a competitive advantage by deflating their footballs. This caused millions of fans to get furious and cast premature accusations and to slander the Patriots. Lots of people were more than willing to defame the Patriots. Former QB Troy Aikman said that this is worse than when the Saints paid each other money to hurt other players and knock them out of the game ("bounty-gate") and that "the punishment for the Patriots and/or Bill Belichick has to be more sever than what the punishment was for the New Orleans Saints"(link). Former QB Mark Brunell said "I did not believe what Tom had to say... Those balls were deflated. Somebody had to do it." Even current politicians like Maine Governor Paul LePage and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest took the opportunity to slander the Patriots before the facts came out.
Now facts have come out. Science. Physics. Not just accusations and defamation.
The Ideal Gas Law in Physics states that the pressure and temperature are related. If you put an inflated balloon into a freezer and check on it after a few hours, it will be deflated. If you take the balloon back out and put it back in room temperature, it will start to inflate back up.Martin Schmaltz, a Professor of Physics at Boston University, teaches, "If they (whoever inflated the balls in the first place) had inflated the balls inside the building and put it to the minimum amount, and then brought it outside to temperatures that were about 30 degrees lower, that would drop the PSI by between 1 and 2"(link).
An anonymous postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used his own math and predicted a "1.78 PSI [decrease] by halftime if the balls were filled at room temperature" (link).
Michael Naughton, the chair of Boston College's physics department, adds "If you inflate the ball to 12.5 PSI in an even warmer room where it was, say , 80 degrees, and then played outdoors at 40 degrees, that 12.5 PSI would become 10.5 PSI - a drop of two PSIs"(link).In the rules of football, the officials pump up the footballs in their locker room (room temperature). And since the game was played outside in cold, Boston weather, Physics tells us the footballs would deflate themselves.
#ScienceRules
{A GOOD WATCH: Bill Belichick held an "impromptu press conference" today. His actual speech, which was about 15 minute long, was very insightful and informational. He talks about the rules about the footballs, the procedures, and more. If you have 15 minutes to spare and you are an NFL fan, I recommend you watch this. [LINK] (PS - the last 7 minutes or so is a Q&A with Bill Belichick and he does not expound on anything so it's kind of a waste of time. When they start asking questions, I suggest you save yourself the 7 minutes and just stop watching.)}
