Energy transfer from cuetip to whiteball

riedmich

riedmich

.. dogs' friend ..
Silver Member
A friend of mine asked me if it is easier with soft tips to apply english to the whiteball than with a hard tips.

In my understanding there are several factors which affect the level of spin and travelling energy that can apllied into the whiteball, if a certian amount of arm-action is given:
- stiffness of the entire cue, not only stiffness of the shaft --> the stiffer the more energy can be applied into the white ball
- stiffness of the ferrule construction --> the stiffer the more energy can be transferred
- cuetip: static hardness does not directly result in a higher energy transfer, it is more the dynamic stiffness

For all mentioned factors it is in my understanding the COR --> coefficient of restitution, which is relevant. High values of COR will result in a high energy transfer from tip to white ball, and vice versa.

Am I thinking in the right direction, or am I wrong?

Does anybody know some scientific documents or similar which deal with this stuff?
 
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Dr Dave and Bob Jewett, both members here, have published many papers on these topics. From my understaffing the short answer is:

1) none of what you are asking about affects spin in any noticeable amount. All that affects spin is the tip contact point and cueing direction.
2) for the energy transfer to the CB for the CB linear speed, those factors do come into play. That's why break sticks have harder tips.
 
riedmich said:
A friend of mine asked me if it is easier with soft tips to apply english to the whiteball than with a hard tips.
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A soft tip and a hard tip hitting the same place on the CB produce the same english. The harder tip might produce slightly more RPMs, but the spin-to-speed ratios (what's important in pool) will be the same.

pj
chgo
 
garczar said:
just my thought here but how does the tip know if you do/don't put 'muscle' into a shot? all the tip 'knows' is speed not how the speed got there. as for the op's question Dr.Dave covered hard/soft tips and spin pretty well.
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Thank you for the help.
 
Zerksies said:
looser grip and move the arm faster try not to put muscle behind it
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Yes, a common mistake a lot of players make when trying to get more speed on the ball is that they tighten up and the extra stress and effort destroy their mechanics and as a result they get less speed into the stick and therefor less speed into the ball. A good saying for this -- since we've been working on sayings -- is "let the stick do the work."
 
Bob Jewett said:
Yes, a common mistake a lot of players make when trying to get more speed on the ball is that they tighten up and the extra stress and effort destroy their mechanics and as a result they get less speed into the stick and therefor less speed into the ball. A good saying for this -- since we've been working on sayings -- is "let the stick do the work."
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same thing in golf. i've watched the long-drive guys hit it and they are extremely 'loosey goosey' when they really want to launch one. a lot of am's have a death grip and they never just allow to let rhythm and levers do the work.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Somebody should put 'em in their place - you know, with facts and stuff.

pj
chgo
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This is one of those times that both things can be true. Zerkies is right in that thinking of hitting the CB hard can actually be counterproductive (for the reasons Bob J says) so it’s better to think of it as hitting the CB fast. But PJ and others are also right that in fact you are hitting the CB harder when you’re hitting it faster.

It’s like when people talk about the follow through. Yes, the CB doesn’t “know” you’ve followed through nor does it care about what you do after you it has left the cue tip. But if you don’t follow through then it is extremely difficult to hit the CB at the point of maximum acceleration.
 
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