macguy said:
This is not a problem as the CB does not accelerate after leaving the tip it only slows down.
Measuring Break Speed
- Thread starter 9 ball
- Start date
This is not a problem as the CB does not accelerate after leaving the tip it only slows down.
Colin Colenso said:
While you have the end rail off try this. Hit the cue ball and wait for 1 hour. Measure how many miles it travels. Piece of cake.
If a ball park estimate is good enough, you can use the following guideline on a nine foot table with a cloth speed of approximately 100 and "normal" cushions.9 ball said:
Starting with a centerball hit, and with the cueball at the foot or head spot and shooting straight toward the far cushion, then given an initial speed of 16 mph the ball should travel four table lengths, moving about a half-diamond away from the last cushion before coming to rest. For every two mph greater than 16, the ball should travel an additional two diamonds from the fourth cushion. So at 20 mph it would reach the cushion closest to you and then move about 4 1/2 diamonds downtable.
Of course, there are a number of assumptions involved in the above (cloth speed, cushion efficiency...), which is why it's crude.
As far as removing an end-rail, perhaps you could construct a ramp instead. If you know the angle in which the ball takes off, its initial speed can be obtained in the same way. Or, who says you have to use a pool table in the first place. Just about anything at a reasonable height will do.
Another method is to collide it with three balls nearly frozen to each other so that you get a severe speed reduction from three half-ball hits, and then measure how far it travels after that. Some assumptions about the ball and cloth properties are involved here too.
Jim
Simple, just record the sound of the break, get some free sample editing software and measure the time between two hits, one being the cue striking the cue ball, and the other, cue ball striking the rack. You can easily get the time in milliseconds.
Then measure or calculate the distance from where you shot to the rack.
Then just divide.
Then measure or calculate the distance from where you shot to the rack.
Then just divide.
NotYou said:
The first sentence here is absolute truth, and the most practical application, for controlling the CB after the break, with the POSSIBILITY of pocketing a ball. However...nobody, not even the top pros, always make a ball on the break. It is statistically impossible, and well represented in every t.v. match, let alone any poolplaying anywhere. There are always dry breaks, and always will be. It is the random nature of the games we play. You can practice breaking correctly, to give yourself better odds, but making a ball on every break will never happen. Some players will even go in streaks, of making a ball several games in a row...but it cannot be sustained.
BTW...I use a radar gun to measure my student's break speed, when they desire, and it is rare to see many amateur players top 20 mph...regardless of how hard they try. Almost invariably, people believe they are breaking at a faster speed than they actually are. Like bsmutz said, the harder you try to hit the CB, the more control and accuracy you lose...which is why a controlled break will alway have an advantage over the 'hail mary' approach!
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
