Mb-5 Happy and Unhappy Balls
Published: Thursday 09 March 2006 - Updated: Wednesday 18 April 2007
Aim
To demonstrate the difference of coefficient of restitution of two balls that appear to be quite similar.
Apparatus
Happy and unhappy balls
Description
By holding the two balls at the same height, and releasing them, one will bounce back to a similar height of release, while the other ball will hardly bounce at all. The happy ball, the one with greater bounce, has a high coefficient of restitution. The unhappy ball has a low coefficient of restitution, thus absorbing most of the energy of the fall.