Quote:The problem with that is, people have done the math, and the balls would have had to be inflated around 120+ degrees for the outdoor temperature to change them that much. I remember Neil DeGrasse Tyson posted his math somewhere

 

Well if Neil DeGrasse Tyson said it, it must be true.
/sarc

 

It's a simple calculation. P = P0 * (T / T0)


 

 

77F = 25C = 298K
    (I'm using 77 and 50 to make the celsius numbers come out even)

50F = 10C = 283K

pressure = 12.5 x 283 / 298 = 11.87

 
That's for dry air. If moisture condensed inside the footballs, then the halftime pressure would be even lower. 
The lowest measurement at halftime was 10.9, about 9% under the expected dry air pressure of 11.87 after cooling. Three of four Colts balls were also under 12.5, with the fourth at exactly 12.5. Note the measurement accuracy of +/-.05 psi. It seems to me that the differences can all be explained by taking balls filled with warm humid air outside into the cold.

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