Ball Sports & physics

June 15, 2005 12:25 PM

Par 5 site on the science of golf balls. Service on the newly sized tennis ball. Return on the flight of tennis balls: Part 1; Rally with Part 2. Back and forth again with Ball/Court Interaction 1 and 2, and the aerodynamics of tennis ball coverings puts it away for the point. (And apparently, the weight inside a bowling ball isn't spherical and so modeling the movement of bowling balls takes university papers and presentations.[PDF])
posted by OmieWise (7 comments total)

Yes, bowling ball weight blocks can take a large variety of shapes, and there is a lot of R&D money being spent on developing new shapes and weight balances. It also makes drilling the ball much more complicated - you'll now find that there are large .pdf files with possible drilling locations for each ball, and how it will affect the way the ball performs. In fact, there is so much variety in bowling balls that you will find good amateur bowlers routinely tote around 4+ bowling balls, and those that frequent tournaments can easily bring 8 or more.
posted by evilangela at 12:49 PM on June 15, 2005

oh, evilangela, thanks for the links. I was searching for stuff on the construction of bowling balls but didn't click through to manufacturers for some reason that made sense at the time, but which I question now.
posted by OmieWise at 1:00 PM on June 15, 2005

"Bigger balls slow down quicker," says it all. Size ain't everything.
posted by damclean2 at 3:26 PM on June 15, 2005

On the new size tennis balls:
I play almost every day on several courts. I have NEVER (not once -- never) seen anyone use the oversized tennis balls. I have seen them on the shelves at stores, but never being used.
My prediction: They are a doomed idea.
posted by cccorlew at 6:07 PM on June 15, 2005

Table tennis got bigger balls a few years ago and it stuck.
posted by jewzilla at 6:41 PM on June 15, 2005

...but ping-pong still has small balls.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:59 PM on June 15, 2005

Interesting stuff.
posted by caddis at 6:49 AM on June 16, 2005