Minor thing to add, concerning bar tables
Folks:
Lots of great responses here!
One thing I'd like to add, is the difference certain bar tables (i.e. their cue balls) have on the stun shot.
On any
non-coin-op table (or tables that do
not have a dedicated cue ball return), the cue ball is the same size, weight, and density as the rest of the object balls. The descriptions mentioned thus far about the stop/stun shots hold true; a straight-in shot hit with stun results in a stop shot. That is, when hit perfectly, the cue ball stops right at the contact perimeter (one ball contact away) of where the object ball once stood. Nearly perfect transfer of energy from the moving object (the cue ball) to the stationary object (the object ball) because of equal mass.
However, on a coin-op bar table (or any size table that has a dedicated cue ball return), you are most likely dealing with either an oversize, overweight, or magnetic cue ball -- which changes the cue ball -to- object ball size/weight/density. The cue ball is heavier. Whenever a moving heavier body hits a stationary lighter object, not all the energy is transferred -- some stays with the cue ball. So you'll find that on bar / coin-op / cueball-return tables (other than Diamond's SmartTables which use an optical sensor), the cue ball slides forward into the space occupied by the object ball, before the stun/stop/draw/follow takes effect. How much of a slide occurs is determined by how hard the shot is hit -- harder = deeper cue ball slide into the area formerly occupied by the object ball, perhaps even beyond that space.
This is detailed in the [great book]
8-ball Bible and understanding this phenomenon is crucial to good bar table play.
One can actually see this phenomenon in action with a heavy cue ball. The
Aramith Red Dot Dynamo is perhaps the heaviest cue ball on the market, weighing in at 6.75 ounces (approximately 192 grams). By way of comparison, most object balls weigh in at 5.75 ounces (approximately 164 grams), so there's a full ounce of cue ball that still has undissipated / non-transferred energy after a stun collision with an object ball. That energy has to go somewhere -- and that's continued forward motion. Even with heavy draw applied, one can smash an
Aramith Red Dot Dynamo, and it will slide into the space where the object ball once stood (or beyond that space, depending on how hard you hit it), and you can observe the draw taking effect only after the excess "leftover energy" has been burned up as forward motion into that object ball's previous space. A hard draw shot at a slight angle to the object ball results in a peculiar (but pretty!) "J-hook" motion, that's used by some accomplished bar table players to avoid collision with other nearby object balls -- in essence, "J-hooking" around nearby object balls.
The same thing happens with magnetic cue balls, btw, but because they are usually not as heavy as the aforementioned Aramith Red Dot Dynamo, the effect is not as pronounced. (Magnetic balls, such as
this one, weigh in at 6.125 ounces [approximately 172 grams], a little lighter than the heavyweight Aramith Red Dot Dynamo.)
Hope this is helpful additional info!
-Sean
, but I tend to think of it as sliding whenever the cueball isn't rolling. It's just a terminology issue. I guess if one doesn't specify which one they have in mind (which was completely clear in your post), things can get confusing.
