clean vs dirty balls

T

TURTLE

Registered
Why do freshly polished balls run significantly slower than dirty balls? Or is this my imagination? Those dirty balls run so fast. Anyone, please clarify.

Thanks in advance for your reponses
 
It really depends on the type of dirt. If you have an oily dirt the balls will run faster due to the lower frictional coefficient between the ball and cloth. You will normally find this type of soil near auto repair shops.

More commonly you will find abrasive dirt, this dirt is derived from chalk, dust, dandruff and various other materials. This will increase the frictional coefficient and slow down the balls.

To be safe, it's best to pick up your object ball and wipe it down before you shoot it. Just make sure you tell your oppenent what you are doing first.
 
Dirty balls run fast

Thanks you guys for the replies. I must be using the wrong ball cleaner (Aramith Ball Cleaner..made in Belgium) or leaving a residue on the balls before playing again.....cuz, shortly after playing hitting these shinny balls for a while, then they start running faster.

Any suggestions on name of a good ball cleaner? or would wiping the balls with a wet cloth suffice......Thanks

BTW.........asn 130, THIS IS NOT A JOKE. It's unacceptable to waste my time as well as other people's time to post bs. I would never do that. Spend your time more wisely and respect other people's concerns. It will support and build stronger character. And fyi...bill gates is a cool rich dude.
 
Turtle,

You're not using the wrong ball cleaner, simply not following instructions. Wipe the residue clean off each ball, before you play.

TURTLE said:
Thanks you guys for the replies. I must be using the wrong ball cleaner (Aramith Ball Cleaner..made in Belgium) or leaving a residue on the balls before playing again.....cuz, shortly after playing hitting these shinny balls for a while, then they start running faster.

Any suggestions on name of a good ball cleaner? or would wiping the balls with a wet cloth suffice......Thanks

BTW.........asn 130, THIS IS NOT A JOKE. It's unacceptable to waste my time as well as other people's time to post bs. I would never do that. Spend your time more wisely and respect other people's concerns. It will support and build stronger character. And fyi...bill gates is a cool rich dude.
Click to expand...
 
TURTLE said:
Thanks you guys for the replies. I must be using the wrong ball cleaner (Aramith Ball Cleaner..made in Belgium) or leaving a residue on the balls before playing again.....cuz, shortly after playing hitting these shinny balls for a while, then they start running faster.

Any suggestions on name of a good ball cleaner? or would wiping the balls with a wet cloth suffice......Thanks

BTW.........asn 130, THIS IS NOT A JOKE. It's unacceptable to waste my time as well as other people's time to post bs. I would never do that. Spend your time more wisely and respect other people's concerns. It will support and build stronger character. And fyi...bill gates is a cool rich dude.
Click to expand...

dirty balls bounce harder off the rails
 
I know this much. They itch more when they are dirty. I hope that helps.
 
Dirty balls boing off the rails and clean balls bounce off the rails the way they are supposed to... Only problem is the freshly polished balls don't stay playing that way for long. So find a happy medium between freshly polished and dirty.
 
The only thing that runs faster are the ladies when you have dirty balls :D jk

I would think the dirt on the balls would create more friction against the cloth.
 
ctyhntr said:
Turtle,

You're not using the wrong ball cleaner, simply not following instructions. Wipe the residue clean off each ball, before you play.
Click to expand...

ctyhntr might have it right. The Aramith Ball Cleaner has a mild abrasive material in it - you can feel the grit with your fingers - and if you don't polish the balls properly afterwards, it will stay on them and increase the friction instead of decrease it! Of course, higher friction means more throw in pool, but it's especially noticable in games like 3-cushion where it really changes things like the angles off the cushions, how long spin stays on the ball, etc.

However, it could also be a matter of how you're perceiving the speed difference. I doubt ball cleaning has much difference for a given cloth once rolling has been achieved, since the rolling-without-slipping state is such a low friction state anyways. The sliding state is where friction really matters, and ball-table friction mostly affects how quickly follow and draw take effect. Interestingly, curving is slower - not faster - with lower friction, since the ball has to spend more time converting the spin into a new direction. It might be that you perceive more exaggerated curves or more momentary follow/draw hesitation as really clean balls being slower, even though the rolling distances will ultimately be farther for a given stroke.

Higher friction also means more spin is worn off with each cushion contact. If you shoot straight into a rail with follow, more follow will remain in the initial direction when there is less friction. That remaining follow slows the ball down until it converts into follow in the new direction, so lower friction means more residual spin and a longer conversion time.

Bob Jewett has a measure of table "speed" where you time a lag shot from the foot rail until it just stops back at the head rail. I can't remember it exactly, but it's something like square the time in seconds and multiply by 2. A higher number means a "faster" table, even though it's slower when looked at in terms of time because the "faster" table lag takes longer! Isn't physics and language fun :)

Robert
 
I would just like to point out that when you polish anything it is a matter of common sense to use a separate buffing sheet to assure the complete removal of the polishing compound and residue.

Wax on. Wax off. -Karate Kid
 
real bartram:
dirty balls bounce harder off the rails
Click to expand...
Donny Mills:
Dirty balls boing off the rails
Click to expand...

I assume these guys don't mean that dirty balls rebound at a faster speed, because that's untrue. I assume they mean that dirty balls can "hop" when they rebound because the extra friction and their forward rotation makes them climb up on the cushion nose, lifting themselves off the surface (this is true). Even relatively clean balls can hop if the cushion cloth is sticky or if the nose height is too low. And, btw, this hopping uses up some of the ball's energy so they might actually rebound at a slightly slower speed. Another reason that dirty balls rebound at a slower speed is because balls are generally sliding on the surface as they rebound and the extra friction from this will slow dirty balls down (until they begin rolling).

pj
chgo
 
Last edited:
Patrick Johnson said:
I assume these guys don't mean that dirty balls rebound at a faster speed, because that's untrue. I assume they mean that dirty balls can "hop" when they rebound because the extra friction and their forward rotation makes them climb up on the cushion nose, lifting themselves off the surface (this is true). Even relatively clean balls can hop if the cushion cloth is sticky or if the nose height is too low. And, btw, this hopping uses up some of the ball's energy so they might actually rebound at a slightly slower speed. Another reason that dirty balls rebound at a slower speed is because balls are generally sliding on the surface as they rebound and the extra friction from this will slow dirty balls down (until they begin rolling).

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Is this a theory Patrick or proven fact? Any high speed photography or other scientific proof to support?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top