fieldsports

...(if a designated hitter is allowed to take the pitcher’s turn at bat) 10 players each. The field of play is divided into the infield and the outfield. Within the infield is a square area called the diamond, which has four white bases, one on each corner. The bases are 90 feet (27.4 metres) apart.

Newton’s law of gravitation and Coulomb’s electrostatic law both give the force between two particles as inversely proportional to the square of their separation and directed along the line joining them. The force acting on one particle is a vector. It can be represented by a line with arrowhead; the length of the line is made proportional to the strength of the force, and the direction of the...

Faraday’s conception of electric and magnetic effects laid the groundwork for Maxwell’s equations. Faraday visualized electric charges as producing fields that extend through space and transmit electric and magnetic forces to other distant charges. The notion of electric and magnetic fields is central to the theory of electromagnetism, and so it requires some explanation. A field is used to...

...entirely, there remained only space containing forces. From these two considerations were to come powerful arguments, first, for the transformations and conservation of forces and, second, for field theory as a representation of reality. What makes this point of view Romantic is that the idea of a network of forces in space tied the cosmos into a unity in which all forces were related to...

The field concept plays a central role in the classical formulation of electromagnetism, as well as in many other areas of classical and contemporary physics. Einstein’s gravitational field, for example, replaces Newton’s concept of gravitational action at a distance. The field describing the electric force between a pair of charged particles works in the following manner: each particle creates...

In a blazon (verbal description) of the arms, their field, or background layer, appears first. It may be one of the metals or (gold) or argent (silver), one of the colours gules (red), azure (blue), vert (green), purpure (purple), or sable (black), or one of the furs ermine (a white field...

Field of play and equipment

The field for U.S. gridiron football is 120 yards (109.8 metres) long (including two 10-yard [9.1-metre] end zones) and 53.33 yards (48.8 metres) wide. A coin toss at the beginning of the game determines who will put the ball in play with a place kick from the 30-, 35-, or 40-yard line (at the professional, intercollegiate, and scholastic levels, respectively) and which goal each team will...

The field is 110 yards (about 100 m) long and 60 yards wide. The goals are 80 yards apart, the goal posts being 6 feet (1.8 m) high and the same distance apart, surmounted by a crossbar. The posts are fitted with a netting fastened to the ground behind the goal to stop passage of the ball after a successful shot. The goal-area lines, wing lines, and centre line act as restraints on the...

Based on International Rugby Board (IRB) rules, rugby union is played on a rectangular field not more than 70 metres (229.7 feet) wide; the maximum distance between the goal lines is 100 metres (328 feet), and beyond each goal line the end zone, called “in goal,” extends not more than 22 metres (72.2 feet). At the centre of the goal lines are two goalposts 5.6 metres (18.4 feet)...

...is 44 yards (40.2 metres) wide and extends 18 yards (16.5 metres) into the field. The goal is a frame, backed by a net, measuring 8 yards (7.3 metres) wide and 8 feet (2.4 metres) high. The playing field (pitch) should be 100–130 yards (90–120 metres) long and 50–100 yards (45–90 metres) wide; for international matches, it must be 110–120 yards long and...

...decomposes anaerobically, it eventually accumulates and must be pumped out periodically. Floating solids and grease are trapped by a baffle at the tank outlet, and settled sewage flows out into the leaching field or seepage pits. A leaching field includes several perforated pipelines placed in shallow trenches. The pipes distribute the effluent over a sizable area as it seeps into the soil. If...