The greatest effect observed in this experiment was that exposing a string to high temperatures after post-tensioning stabilization/relaxation has occurred (as in leaving the racquet in the car during hot weather) produces the greatest decrease in tension. Place one of the balls in the freezer for 30 minutes (you can do this while executing steps 9-14). Application of the Concept to the Real World, 10 Tips To Win Doubles Tennis With A Weak Partner. (Sheehan, 2011)On impact, the gas will be caused to move toward the ground. The part of a paintball gun that is used to shoot the ball accurately is the barrel. Temperature is either something that is cold or hot. That is the important take away. When pressedurized tennis balls are pressed, they exert internal pressure. Exploratorium: That's The Way The Ball Bounces. Figure 8 Closeup of stiffness vs temperature for each nylon and polyester string. The strings were each given an Identification number from 1-15 (14 was omitted). Figure 3 Tension vs time for the same string as Figure 2 but following the heating-after-tensioning protocol. It wasn't much less and one might be tempted to say that for practical purposes there was no difference. Do variations in temperature exposure affect tension loss in these materials differently? Conclusion. Place the thermometer on the ball. Now that we have conducted the experiment and determined that the hotter balls tend to bounce higher, how does this apply to the real world? Heat three tennis balls you have selected inside the heating pad. Create a graph or a table showing how high the balls bounce in different temperatures. The stiffness of the gut and nylon strings seemed to be more sensitive to temperature than did the polyester and kevlar strings. The ball will not bounce much in the winter, which means that the players will not be as active on the field as they are during the summer season. According to Aleks Szymanski from tennisletics.com, tennis balls are hollow and contain air that expands in the event of high temperatures, causing the balls to bounce more freely. There are two reasons for this. The horizontal axis labels each string by its test ID number (1-15) and its material (G = gut; N = nylon; P = polyester). But there is a possible explanation for the behavior, though it was not measured during the test. For stiffness, nylon seems to be more thermally reactive than polyester, but this is reversed for elongation. Later, the data would be compared by calculating the percentage of the bounce height over the initial height. Leave 2 out for 10 mins so they can come to room temperature. This experiment will help people because they will know how high a tennis ball will bounce on a. The cubic fit is shown by R squared values of .396 and .331 and, the regression is able to predict between two and three times as many of the points as the linear regression. The setup was essentially the same as in Figure 1 but a computer controlled stretching program was different. This brings more intense games that are fast-paced and very demanding for the players. Using balls that are all new means that your experiment will be more consistent, and as such, you will be able to get the best kind of results. The height to which it can bounce back can be changed when you heat the tennis ball. Drop ball and mark where the lowest part of the ball is after the first bounce. And we saw in Figures 7 and 8 that stiffness is proportional to temperature. Energy Flow and Return Between a Tennis Ball and Stringbed, Free-standing vs Hand-held Racquet Testing. On the other hand, a temperature decrease causes the gas molecules to contract and move around more sluggishly. A string was inserted inside clear perspex tube with two open ends and through a small hole in a rubber stopper at each end of the tube. (Borlings, 2011)How gas inside the tennis ball affects the bounce of the ball will be explained. Tension loss by temperature is shown in Figure 11. A thousand seconds after achieving target tension and being clamped off, the string that took only 1 second to stretch to target tension lost almost 3 Kg more tension than the one that took 26 seconds. Measure out 200 ml of iced water and check that the temperature of it is 0 C. If the uniform temperature of a tennis ball is decreased, the balls bounce will be lower. (Sheehan, 2011)Outside of the ball is felt, which is the furry, yellow fabric on the surface of the tennis ball. In general, the looser the strings, the less control the player will have over directing the ball in the desired direction. Your email address will not be published. Gather 15 to 20 tennis balls and a measuring tape. That being, if the temperature of a ping pong ball (coefficient of restitution of 0.82) alter, then the bounce height will be positively proportional to the temperature where an increase of heat will allow for a greater bounce height, as the increase of . Put 2 in the freezer, also for 10 mins, so they can First, make a way for the ball to drop from the same height every time. This allows more elongation at lower stresses than occur at lower temperatures. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Tennis balls should ideally be kept at temperatures greater than 68 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius. Most players focus on tension, but that is only useful in as much as it predicts stiffness, which is often the case for comparing an individual string at different tensions but not for comparing different strings to each other. Why don't you do an experiment. Table 9: Ball 1 vs. (2012, 8 22). We are guessing that heat makes the molecules move faster in the bouncy ball, which gives it more elasticity, but I did not find anything in my research of this project that confirms that fact. Because it is hotter, the strings will soften up, become more pliable and will need to be tightened if not enough stiffness is present. the serves comes in five main types of which includes; cannonball or flat serve, topspin-slice serve, slice serve, American twist serve and the topspin serve. While nylon and polyester are less durable than nylon and responsive to unfavorable conditions, they are still more robust than natural gut. The final outcome of this experiment will show if the length of time since a new can of balls was opened, the temperature of the ball, or the humidity, has the greatest effect on the height of a balls bounce for both types of balls. Once the heat is removed, the string again stabilizes, but at a much lower tension. An experiment was performed to determine the effect of temperature on the stiffness, elongation, tension loss and maintenance of tennis strings. Using tongs, push the squash ball under the water for about 2 minutes. Required fields are marked *. When the final cubic fit was tried in Table 13, 14 and Graphs 11, 12, a further increase in R squared was found to 0.979 and 0.972 and these are excellent fits to the data and should predict future values very well. Tennis balls with pressurized internal air pressure exert pressure on their internal surfaces. Her professional writing works focus mainly on the subjects of physical health, fitness, nutrition and positive lifestyle changes. When you have heated the balls, you will have provided them more energy to move about, and as such, they will be able to bounce to higher heights when they are dropped to the ground. An increase in R squared to values of 0.974 and 0.957 were seen and suggests that the quadratic fit is even better than the linear one. It is the interplay between stretch rate, stretch amount, stretch duration, temperature, and stress relaxation that effects the amount of tension loss that occurs only in the relaxation period (the period that was measured to get "tension loss"). This scientific mystery can be demonstrated at home or school with a simple experiment. (Harriman, 2012)When the temperature increases, the gas molecules expand and as they expand, the energy of them increases, causing them to bounce more tempestuously. The 40 C tests were performed in two ways: first by heating the string to 40 C with a heat gun just prior to tensioning the string to 28 kg (62 lb) and then letting the string stabilize at constant elongation for 100 seconds. The string ends extended past the end of the tube and were clamped. Do not forget to note the temperature of each ball before bouncing it off the ground to ensure that you get the best kind of results. One may also use a heat dish to do this. Overall the residual plots show that the fit is good, but there is some considerable doubt and, it is possible another model might fit the data even better. Retrieved 8 24, 2012, from LIVESTRONG: http://www.livestrong.com/article/398740-temperatures-tennis-balls/, Incorporation, I. The independent variable is temperature. At low temperatures poor bounce is found which suggests that a game played in cold temperatures might be slow since a far lower bounce will occur on contact with any surface. For this reason, the players will have a better experience which is usually caused by the plenty of pressure inside the tennis ball. Sealable plastic bags Bocce ball is a great way to demonstrate the complex wonders of Newtons three laws in a simple and understandable way. Whenever this ball falls to the ground, its air expands, causing the ball to bounce back. As a result, a cold ball has a much lower bounce. Hold a ball so its lowest point is at the 1 metre point. The tennis serve begins with flexion of the knee joint caused by the hamstrings. Results for Setup #1 tension loss vs timing of heat application. The Erector Spinae muscle causes trunk extension to allow the abdominals to fully flex the trunk and generate the force that is then transferred to the upper body. Crawford Lindsey, Tennis Warehouse, San Luis Obispo, CA. The expected result was that the tension loss would increase for each string by about the same amount, regardless of whether it was heated before tensioning or after tensioning. The thing that is changing is the temperature of the tennis ball. As such, gas molecules can easily expand or contract. Method 1) 2 rubber balls were left sitting at room temperature, and 1.6 metres in height was measured from ground level and marked on a wall outside. Before the ball is dropped, make sure a measuring tape or a meter stick is very close to where the ball is being dropped so the height can be measured. Natural gut string is generally more responsive to changes in temperature. How Do Different Surfaces Effect The Bounce Of A Tennis Ball? Temperature Quadratic ANOVA, Table 10: Ball 2 vs. For instance, you can use old balls for the second round of the experiment compared to new balls. (Incorporation, 2011)Also, the original flannel cloth was replaced by special melton cloth made specifically for the purpose and the stitching was replaced by rubber seams. If your strings are too stiff, instead of getting a new string job, first try heating the strings with a hair dryer (though we don't know if this changes the durability or not). Each contributes to how a ball performs. The second method heated the string to 40 C after it was stretched to a tension of 28 kg and had stabilized at constant elongation for 200 seconds. Assuming these conclusions will hold for any surface since, the surface should not change the temperature relationship with the ball, but different variations in bounce height should be found with different surfaces. This is because the higher temperatures within the summer cause the balls to bounce higher. Heating before tensioning would simulate the effect of temperature during the stringing/tensioning process. The most striking result is how much tension is lost during the 40 C post-tensioning-heating scenario compared to room temperature. Tennis serve is the shot that starts off the point. Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Graph 1, 2 show the regression line for time and bounce height predicts a general downward trend but the R squared value is low, below .17 in both cases. Tennis balls are typically air-conditioned and have internal air pressure that influences their bounce. The analysis of all the data proves some of the questions posed. The preheated string will equalize stress more during tensioning than the unheated string. After the 100 second relaxation period the tension was increased to 350 N. Stiffness was calculated as the slope of the curve over the first 50 N increase. Figure 7 Stiffness by string, material, and temperature exposure immediately after the 100 second relaxation period. First, find a tennis ball with a thermometer right next to it and leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes. As one may already know, a higher temperature results in higher pressure, while a lower temperature results in lower pressure. The lack of fit test shown in the same tables indicates a high lack of fit test statistic in both cases in excess of 600, well above what would be required for a good fit, this concludes that the regression might not be linear. Its also worth noting some of the less short-term effects on racket stringing. To offset the balls declining bounce, the Tennis.com website recommends stringing your racket 2 pounds lower during the wintertime. She works in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and her previous nursing experience includes geriatrics, pulmonary disorders and home health care. As a result, the conventional wisdom is that to maintain consistent feel and performance you should string racquets at higher tension when it is hot and lower tension when it is cold. Because of the intense heat or cold, and depending on the material, tennis strings can be significantly affected in ways that change the way the ball reacts to the racket and the players actions. Only string number 7 does not fit the pattern of stiffness being inversely related to temperature. The higher the pressure, the more the ball will bounce, and vice versa. That is, it is more susceptible to wear in unfavorable conditions. The balls need to have the right temperature and air pressure inside in order to work best. This reordering occurs during both the stretching and post-stretching phases. Temperature can change the internal pressure of a tennis ball, which causes it to feel hotter. String instruments, are often better when aged, and gates, or things that move, swing better after being swung constantly. Then, drop the ball from a height of one meter. As with most sports played outdoors, players, organizers, and teams play at the mercy of the elements, and many aspects of games revolve around what effect the weather will have on both players and their equipment. As long as there is stress, some molecular bonds will continue to reorient to less stressful positions given enough time. Take 2 tennis balls and put them in the slow cooker for 10 mins. When a tennis ball is compressed, its internal air pressure is boosted. As such, the heated ball will tend to have a higher bounce than the colder ball. For ball 1 a value of 0.925 was found and 0.908 was found for ball 2. Bibliography .:. The first setup (Figure 1) was used to measure tension vs time for strings with different temperature exposure histories. When the temperature increases, the gas molecules inside the tennis ball expand. Place one of the tennis balls in the freezer for 20 mins 2. Figure 12 Tension vs time for a string tensioned to 28 kg for several different time intervals prior to clamping. The difference in stiffness between temperatures for each string was greater for the nylon strings. Easy Experiment. Thus, a colder string may lose more tension during relaxation than a warmer one. Electrical tape The anatomy of a tennis ball features a hollow rubber-like core filled with gas. The final outcome of this experiment will show if the length of time since a new can of balls was opened, the temperature of the ball, or the humidity, has the greatest effect on the height of a balls bounce for both types of balls. Photos of the investigation being conducted This phase was similar to the pre-tensioning heating test but an additional 100 seconds was added to allow tension to stabilize. As you will notice from your experiment, the balls that have been treated to the ice chest with ice in it will tend to have lower bounces, resulting from the molecules moving around less and containing less energy. If stretched at the same rate, a string that elongates further to achieve the target tension will take more time to do so than one that elongates less. Top "The Effect of Temperature on a Bouncing Ball." The Effect of Temperature on a Bouncing Ball. The hypothesis was supported. To measure the bounciness of a ball, you can try dropping it from a height onto a hard surface. (Wikipedia, 2012)From the 18th century, tennis balls were formed by wounding strips of wool around a nucleus made by rolling strips into a tiny ball. Here is the data collected from the first bounce of each temperature. In the experiment only a hard surface will be analyzed and no playing with the ball will be allowed. The tennis ball was then dropped from various heights; 1, 1.5 and 2 meters above a hard surface, using a meter ruler, before it was dropped onto the ground and the resulting bounce height measured. The p-value remains, as it should at zero, when the regression was plotted in Graph 5, 6 the R squared value showed little improvement, few points are still predicted by the regressed line. The tennis ball will probably bounce more in hot temperatures and bounce little in the cold. Tension is a component of stiffness. What is the effect of. (Sheehan, 2011)However, if one lets the ball continue to bounce, it will bounce less high each time until it eventually just sits on the ground. How Does Air Pressure in a Ball Make the Ball Bounce Higher? in my school i finish up in 2nd place thank u very much. 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