-- doctorremulac3, Feb 04 2019 Clear skull ball http://www.objectpl...e-hopkinsville.html [bs0u0155, Feb 04 2019] I don't think a tiger will actually fit. When you see them on TV, they're actually a lot smaller than in real life.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 04 2019 Clear bowling balls with all sorts inside them exist. See <link> with a skull. Personally, I like the idea of a liquid- core, maybe one of those sealed-ecosystem things with shrimp inside would be fun. Unless they don't like shocks.-- bs0u0155, Feb 04 2019 //I don't think a tiger will actually fit. When you see them on TV, they're actually a lot smaller than in real life.// - couldn’t you just use a much larger bowling ball?-- hippo, Feb 04 2019 That would certainly help matters. Or you could use a tiger that's far away.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 04 2019 // Personally, I like the idea of a liquid core //
That would add some interesting behavior to the motion of the ball. [a few seconds pass] Now I see this has already been posted as an idea, three below this one in the same category.-- notexactly, Feb 04 2019 I have seen glass cubes with stuff laser engraved into their interiors, possibly a confocal effect thing. You could do that with a large sphere. Making the thing once with CAD software then making many spheres could make it less effortful. A pretty math function could be nice too.
Then there are those fractal acrylic things from electricity too...-- beanangel, Feb 05 2019 Don't say hamster don't say hamster don't say hamster-- Voice, Feb 05 2019 IT WAS A SIMPLE REQUEST-- Voice, Feb 05 2019 Fortnum & Mason do very nice ones at Christmas.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 05 2019 Wonder if you can make a ball that rolls down the lane slowly, but building up potential energy that's put back into motion that speeds up the ball at the last second to hit the pins with most of the energy that the bowler put into it.
For some reason.
How about a 360 degree LED screen that shows an animated image of flames or sparks once the ball senses it's rolling?
For some other reason.-- doctorremulac3, Feb 05 2019 // building up potential energy that's put back into motion that speeds up the ball at the last second to hit the pins with most of the energy that the bowler put into it. //
"Most" will be doing well. No energy storage system is perfectly lossless, outside school physics textbooks*. So if the ball sets off with energy E and some is absorbed and stored, then reapplied to the ball, the final energy will always be E - deltaE. The remaining energy will be dissipated by frictional heating, air turbulence, or stolen by the tiny green gnomes that live under the bowling lane.
However ...
The air resistance the ball experiences is proportional to V^2. If the ball is released with velocity V, and rapidly decelerates to V/2, then the air resistance - hence the turbulence, and energy loss - will be proportionately diminished (square law).
So a ball that slows down, then speeds up for the final impact, might make some sense after all. It depends how much air resistance contributes to the overall deceleration down the lane. It's probably quite a lot, as the rolling contact resistance of a smooth inelastic sphere on a smooth inelastic surface will be very small.
*Or indeed geography textbooks. It's been established that geography textbooks hurled at students by aggressive, psychotic geography teachers can actually strike the victim with more energy than they started with. This is because all geography teachers have turned to the Dark Side of the Force, and are Twisted and Evil.-- 8th of 7, Feb 05 2019 But what's the mechanism to store that energy? How do you store some percentage of that energy to put some percentage that energy stored over say, 90% of the roll into a last split second surge?
Without having anything like wheels or plungers extend out of the ball at the last second, all has to be internal.
The only air friction model I can see is if you have a drag chute with a heavy weight on it attached to rubber bands that extends out as the ball rolls, then snaps back with the weight and hits the ball at the last second putting some measure of energy back into the forward movement.
Seems very inefficient. Obviously due to the storage/retrieval loss you're better off just letting the ball roll with any system.
I'm thinking a spring in the middle with a counter weight that spins the other way when the spring reaches its extent. It'll be spinning the opposite direction in the middle then gears engage at the last second turning that rearword motion into forward motion.-- doctorremulac3, Feb 05 2019 You could also "spin up" the interior ball and have it engage at the last few seconds to hit the pins with cannonball force.
Could do it the opposite direction and have it act as a brake as well. Not sure why you'd do that but "Why?" doesn't figure into this.-- doctorremulac3, Feb 05 2019 Yea, guess these are pretty slippery, it'd just slide slightly slower.
But if you did use rubber it might make a cool squeeling sound.
Ok, here's the idea. Screw the original idea.
Actually I'm going to post a new idea because this is so brilliant.-- doctorremulac3, Feb 05 2019 //No energy storage system is perfectly lossless, outside school physics textbooks*
So, logically, a bowling ball with a school physics textbook attached to the inside...-- not_morrison_rm, Feb 05 2019 random, halfbakery