Ahh - superballs. They toys of youth.

Get a giant superball. Hollow it out, and put a smaller superball inside, about 3/4 of the size. Hollow that one out, and place another smaller superball inside that one. Now, hollow THAT one out, and place yet a smaller ball...

Of course, you should start with the smallest ball, cause manipulating something through several layers of superball can be complicated and nigh impossible. Unless you use quantum.

So when you throw this toy, and it impacts all of the smaller balls impact the insides of the larger balls and so on.
-- DesertFox, Sep 06 2006

rhinocerous software http://www.rhino3d.com/
this one can draw it up for sure [xenzag, Sep 06 2006]

3D printing http://www.zcorp.com/
This one can "print" out the results [xenzag, Sep 06 2006]

this would actually be easy to make, believe it or not, with a 3D printer, and the drawing done of balls inside balls, using a standard 3D programme. Will find some links. Now as to its bouncing characteristics, that's another story.
-- xenzag, Sep 06 2006


I believe that the bouncing characteristics would send the ball bouncing in strange ways, as for the collisions inside would be very dynamic. While the ball as a whole may impact the wall, some of the smaller balls may be moving sideways or something.
-- DesertFox, Sep 06 2006


I'm sure one of the 3D programmes would be able to calculate and simulate the movement as well... would love to watch. +
-- xenzag, Sep 06 2006


I've seen something sorta like this as a science toy. Three balls are stacked on a shaft, smallest on top. When it hits the ground, the top ball is fired higher than the whole thing was dropped from.

The subtitle implies that this idea is for a ball that will keep bouncing a long time, which won't happen. This is probably going to bounce a little wobbly, but not as high or as well as a normal superball.

It certainly won't be able to do my favorite superball trick, where I spin the ball from between my palms and watch it jump sideways when it hits the floor. I'm not liking this.
-- baconbrain, Sep 06 2006


I'm sorry, but I predict 0 to 1 bounces. Aside from the shape it is in, this seems like a superball hollowed out and filled with loose pieces of rubber.

All that random movement would just waste all the energy wobbling. The best material would be something really bouncy like steel, and still I would predict poor results.
-- GutPunchLullabies, Sep 06 2006


P.S. Recursive Superball?
-- GutPunchLullabies, Sep 06 2006



random, halfbakery