4 ms·
The insides of pro bowling balls (2020)
- dist-epoch 3y agoI can't wait for a cheating scandal where the balls are "active" and a computer inside steers it.
- shagie 3y agoWorld's First Automatic Strike Bowling Ball (Mark Rober) in 2019 ... https://youtu.be/wM5NHC97JBw https://youtu.be/wM5NHC97JBw Building Mark Rober's Bowling Ball (James Bruton) ... https://youtu.be/eI33iAXcEYA https://youtu.be/eI33iAXcEYA
- Tronno 3y agoMore interesting as advertising gimmickry than physics.
- duskwuff 3y agoI get that sense as well. I really have to wonder how much of this alleged technology actually affects performance and how much is woo-woo nonsense -- so long as the bowling ball is a rigid body, the only relevant factors should be its weight, its center of mass, and its moments of inertia around a few axes. Putting weird swirls and ripples into the core won't meaningfully affect that.
- bandyaboot 3y ago> the only relevant factors should be its weight, its center of mass, and its moments of inertia around a few axes. I believe the single biggest factor is which material the outer cover is made from. House balls don’t hook much because they usually just use a plastic cover which doesn’t grip very well.
- m463 3y ago"meaningfully" might be different for someone at the pro level. Sort of how for most people, the limitation of driving fast on a twisty road is the person, not the car.
- eiiot 3y agoDerek from Veritasium has a decent video on this topic that seems to be less corporate: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aFPJf-wKTd0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aFPJf-wKTd0
- sharkweek 3y agoFor as hyperbolic as a headline can be, this was honestly pretty wild! I had absolutely no idea bowling balls were anything other than solid pieces of… whatever material they are on the surface.
- Aloha 3y agoLargely same - I wonder if such complexly engineered balls is why bowling has a falloff in popularity as a pro sport. The difference in how good two pro bowlers are is often fractions of a percent. Maybe a step back in technology would make the sport more interesting.
- aridiculous 3y agoSeems to me like bowling rules could use an update. When every pro is so good that they are just competing on mental focus, the nature of the ball, and slight environmental factors like the changing slickness of the wood, it has ceased to become compelling competition. I’d love to see some kind of dynamic interaction between the players: e.g. if you hit your 3 pin, it gets added to the opposing player. Something like that. I suppose this goes for all sports of this kind where the players actions don’t affect each other.
- suprjami 3y agoI'm not sure the general public are ready for Bowling meets Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo but I like the idea.
- throwup238 3y agoI was thinking something more like Thunderdome with audience participation. Two men enter, two bloody flying pins leave.
- alex_young 3y agoIsn't that how the "old" style pinsetters work? That sound is amazing though :)
- heads 3y ago> just competing on mental focus Ahem: snooker, darts, golf, test match cricket, tennis. To varying degrees with these sports, at the top tier, mastery of the skill is merely the table stakes. The winners are the ones who can do so under immense pressure.
- Aloha 3y agoThe difference in how good two pro bowlers are is often fractions of a percent. Maybe a step back in technology would make the sport more interesting. I think that can be said for a bunch of stuff like pool, snooker, darts, golf, and bowling.
- dang 3y agoRelated: The insides of pro bowling balls - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28073317 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28073317 - Aug 2021 (50 comments) I don't know how 'pro' they are, but also: How Bowling Balls Are Made [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35581792 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35581792 - April 2023 (14 comments) One man’s journey to the center of the bowling ball - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27324564 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27324564 - May 2021 (14 comments)