Magnus Effect Simulator (2D)

Airflow

Airflow speed 22 m/s

Spin

Spin rate +300 rpm

Ready — press Launch to send the ball through the airflow.

Live Readout

Spin parameter (ωr/v)

–

Lift coeff. C_L

–

Magnus force

– N

Ball speed

– m/s

Lateral deflection

– m

Flight time

– s

How it works

A spinning ball dragged through air drags a thin boundary layer of air around with it. On the side where the surface motion adds to the oncoming airflow, the local air speeds up and its pressure drops (Bernoulli); on the opposite side the surface motion fights the airflow, slowing it and raising pressure. That pressure imbalance is the Magnus force, F = S(ω×v) — always perpendicular to the ball's velocity v, with magnitude set by the spin vector ω and a lift coefficient that grows with the dimensionless spin parameter ωr/v.

This simulator models a regulation football (mass 0.43 kg, radius 0.11 m) viewed from above: it launches straight down the airflow, and any spin about the vertical axis curls its path sideways exactly like a "banana kick" or a curveball's swerve seen from a bird's-eye view.

Raise airflow speed and the same spin produces a straighter path — the spin parameter ωr/v shrinks as v grows, so relative lift falls.
Flip the spin sign to curl the other way; zero spin flies dead straight down the airflow.

Ball path Airflow direction