Happy-Sad Ball Set
Happy-Sad Ball Set

 

Code Number: 1R40.30

Demo Title: Happy - Unhappy Balls

Condition: Excellent

Principle: Coefficient of Restitution

Area of Study: Mechanics

Equipment:

Happy - Unhappy Ball Set.

Procedure:

The happy - sad ball set has one ball that is much like a super ball and one ball that will absorb all of the energy and therefore will not bounce.  The bouncing ball is made from polyneoprene and the non-bouncing ball is made from polynorbornene.

References:

  • Rod Cross, "Collision of a Happy Ball with a Sad Ball", TPT, Vol. 60, #1, Jan. 2022, p. 22.
  • Kelley D. Sullivan, "What’s in a Name: Why Do We Call a Bouncy Ball Bouncy?", TPT, Vol. 57, #4, Apr. 2019, p. 229.
  • David Kagan, "Happy Balls, Unhappy Balls, and Newton's Cradle", TPT, Vol. 48, #3, Mar. 2010, p. 152.
  • Rod Cross, "The Coefficient of Restitution for Collisions of Happy Balls, Unhappy Balls, and Tennis Balls", AJP, Vol. 68, #11, Nov. 2000, p. 1025.
  • Rod Cross, "The Bounce of a Ball", AJP, Vol. 67, #3, Mar. 1999, p. 222.
  • Guenter Schwarz and Paul J. Haigh, "Demonstrating Elastic and Inelastic Collisions Using Bouncing and Nonbouncing Balls", AJP, Vol. 37, #3, Mar. 1969, p. 333.
  • Bill Franklin, "Sad and Happy Balls", Teaching About Impulse and Momentum, p. 4.16.
  • Jodi and Roy McCullough, "Energy with Happy and Sad Balls", The Role of Toys in Teaching Physics, p. 4.88.
  • Pat Murphy, Ellen Macaulay, and the Staff of the Exploratorium, "That's the Way the Ball Bounces", Exploratopia, p. 138.
  • Borislaw Bilash II, “Smart and Stupid Balls“, A Demo A Day – A Year of Physical Science Demonstrations, p. 204.