how many microdots are on the shootable part of the cb?

I was just thinking about how many different places on the cb could be safely contacted
and at how many different angles..and at how many different speeds, etc.
it's amazing to think about (microdots welcome, but unnecessary)
thanks all for the replies-
 
Patrick Johnson said:
lol

If you have a ball with any markings on it, maybe you can orient it with a mark right at halfway from center to edge of the ball (on the equator, estimated by eye) and compare your chalk mark with that.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
I haven't measured this but you can lay the stick completely on the table and produce a draw shot.
 
evergruven said:
I was just thinking about how many different places on the cb could be safely contacted
and at how many different angles..and at how many different speeds, etc.
it's amazing to think about (microdots welcome, but unnecessary)
thanks all for the replies-
Click to expand...
It's useful to understand the difference between things that vary continuously, like the speed of a car, and things that vary by a count, such as the number of balls on the table. If some quantity varies continuously, there is an infinite number of possible values for it.

Sometimes people try to simplify a continuous quantity, and sometimes that's useful. A common example is rating things from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. APA skill levels are in steps from 2 (are there 1s?) to 8 or so. By contrast, FargoRate ratings are continuous so it is possible for your rating to be 537.40284848... but they just show 537. Many digital speedometers on cars only show even miles per hour, but there is an infinite number of speeds between each whole number.

So.... The real answer to your question is that there is an infinite number of places to hit the cue ball and an infinite number of speeds to use and an infinite number of elevation angles and....
 
evergruven said:
I was just thinking about how many different places on the cb could be safely contacted
and at how many different angles..and at how many different speeds, etc.
it's amazing to think about (microdots welcome, but unnecessary)
thanks all for the replies-
Click to expand...

Circumference of a standard cb is 179.6mm

The portion of the ball that can be struck without a miscue is the middle 28.6mm, looking straight at the ball, which gives us a veritcal and a horizontal limit, and also defines a circle in which we can strike the cb without miscuing. The actually surface length of this circle is 29.9mm along the surface of the ball, because it's not a flat circle.

So, since the circumference (equator) is 179.6mm, if we multiple a 29.9mm vertical strip of the ball by 179.6, we get the total amount of square millimeters available for use.
It's 5,370mm². So if a microdot is 1mm, the answer is 5,370.

That's considering the entire 360° circumference of the ball, all the way around its equator as it sits on the table, discounting the top and bottom quarters where a miscue would occur.

From any particular perspective/viewpoint, we have 688mm² available for use, or 688 1mm "microdots". This is the surface area of the 28.6mm circle, the miscue limit, which is really a convex "cap" we're facing on the ball.

I'm sure none of this means anything, but it was fun calculating it.
 
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Is any of this info going to improve anyone's game?? :)
Rather than trying to figure out and confirm any of this stuff I choose to go hit some balls, not microdots. :)
 
fastone371 said:
Is any of this info going to improve anyone's game?? :)
Rather than trying to figure out and confirm any of this stuff I choose to go hit some balls, not microdots. :)
Click to expand...

Lol. No, it's definitely not game-improving knowledge.
 
Black-Balled said:
Try the microdots BEFORE playing pool. Like 2hr should be good.

Need more data on this experiment.
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You should warn the OP to start with no more than 25 micrograms -- er -- microdots.

Bob <-- who used to play in a room where the managers often discussed how many micrograms they had had that day so far.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Logic says you'll miscue that way unless your tip's at least 14mm wide (~9/16") - wide enough to hit the CB within the miscue limit.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
You can't do a power draw but you can do a short draw from short distances. I use mostly 13mm tips and those work fine. Of course if you add any oomph to the stroke, you'll scoop it.
 
Bob Jewett said:
You should warn the OP to start with no more than 25 micrograms -- er -- microdots.

Bob <-- who used to play in a room where the managers often discussed how many micrograms they had had that day so far.
Click to expand...
Black-Balled said:
Out of the car, longhair.
Click to expand...
A local hispanic cop used to call us "sheet-een-thee-park hippees". We almost had t-shirts made.

pj <- never sheet een thee park, I swear
chgo
 
Is the point of the question to talk about the maximum level of error in hitting the cueball in the wrong spot would be that will still make the shot?

I mean really there is pretty much an infinite number or ways the tip can contact the cueball when shooting, but there is usually a point of precision for any shot we need to be aware off for distance and angle to the pocket. Say if I'm shooting a 5 foot straight in shot, how much off center can I hit and still make the ball, for a given shaft performance. Seems that is the real question here, not just in how many places can we hit the cueball.
 
hang-the-9 said:
Is the point of the question to talk about the maximum level of error in hitting the cueball in the wrong spot would be that will still make the shot?

I mean really there is pretty much an infinite number or ways the tip can contact the cueball when shooting, but there is usually a point of precision for any shot we need to be aware off for distance and angle to the pocket. Say if I'm shooting a 5 foot straight in shot, how much off center can I hit and still make the ball, for a given shaft performance. Seems that is the real question here, not just in how many places can we hit the cueball.
Click to expand...

I was/am curious about how many places can we hit the cb. but I like your question, too.
 
evergruven said:
I was/am curious about how many places can we hit the cb. but I like your question, too.
Click to expand...

For any given cb perspective there are 688 places where we could hit the cb without miscuing (each place being 1 square mm on the surface of the ball).
 
evergruven said:
I was/am curious about how many places can we hit the cb. but I like your question, too.
Click to expand...
BC21 said:
For any given cb perspective there are 688 places where we could hit the cb without miscuing (each place being 1 square mm on the surface of the ball).
Click to expand...
so there is an answer
how does that help your game?
or contribute to others game?
are you and justnum related?
you and prairie dog?
just askin
no offense intended
i am alittle cranky to day.... sorry
 
Bob Jewett said:
So.... The real answer to your question is that there is an infinite number of places to hit the cue ball and an infinite number of speeds to use and an infinite number of elevation angles and....
Click to expand...
Hence, only a player shooting infinitely fast or one that plans to live forever can aspire to trying all the possible shots.
 
bbb said:
so there is an answer
how does that help your game?
or contribute to others game?
are you and justnum related?
you and prairie dog?
just askin
no offense intended
i am alittle cranky to day.... sorry
Click to expand...

It doesn't help at all. It was just an answer in response to the op's curiosity.

It would be like a ballerina being curious about how many different places her feet could be placed on a dance floor. Sure, there's an answer that can be calculated, but the only thing that really matters is that she knows where her feet need to go for any particular dance.
 
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