Physics
of Pool and Billiards
... resources to help learn pool physics.
Physics
of Pool and Billiards... resources to help learn pool physics.
Dr.
Dave's answers to frequently-asked questions (FAQs),
mostly from the BD
CCB and AZB
discussion forums
maintained for the book: The
Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards,
the DVD series: The Video Encyclopedia of Pool Shots (VEPS),
the DVD series: The Video Encyclopedia of Pool Practice (VEPP),
and the monthly Billiards
Digest "Illustrated Principles" instructional articles
Where can I find information on the billiards and pool physics work of the great mathematician and physicist Coriolis?
My July through December '05 instructional articles summarize and illustrate many of Coriolis' original contributions from his 1835 book (which was written in French).
An English translation of his famous book became available in 2005.
What are approximate values for pool equipment physical properties?
ball diameter: 2.25 in
ball mass: 6 oz
ball mass moment of inertia: 2/5 mR2
ball-ball coefficient of friction (m): 0.03-0.08
ball-ball coefficient of restitution (e): 0.92-0.98
ball-cloth coefficient of rolling resistance (m): 0.005 - 0.015
ball-cloth coefficient of sliding friction (m): 0.5 - 0.2
ball-cloth spin deceleration rate: 5-15 rad/sec2
ball-rail coefficient of restitution (e): 0.6-0.8
ball-table coefficient of restitution (e): 0.5
cue-tip-ball coefficient of friction (m): 0.6
cue-tip-ball coefficient of restitution (e): 0.71-0.75 (leather tip), 0.81-0.87 (phenolic tip)
Typical cue ball speeds for a range of shots:
touch: 1.5 mph
slow: 3 mph
medium-soft: 5 mph
medium: 7 mph
medium-fast: 8 mph
fast: 12 mph
power: 20 mph
Where can I find information and resources on pool and billiards physics?
The billiards and pool physics resources section of my website has lists of references and links to many general interest and technical articles, books, and websites providing excellent resources on this topic.
How does one go about creating a pool simulator?
The basics of the geometry and graphics are described fairly well here. The physics complexities are dealt with in many good resources. An open-source graphics simulator project called FooBilliard, with source code, is available here: http://foobillard.sourceforge.net. An open source project dealing with pool physics can be found here: http://billiards2.stanford.edu/FastFiz/main.html.
Virtual Pool is a good commercially available pool simulator. A free demo version can be downloaded here: http://download.cnet.com/Virtual-Pool-3-demo/3000-7427_4-10049870.html
from John Novak:
Virtual Pool 3 DL is as close to the real thing as you can get.. When I first heard about it over 10 years ago I looked at it as just a computer game. But, it is not. Everything you can do on a real table can be simulated in this game. Cue butt angle, squirt, swerve, etc. Check it out the graphics are amazing... You can even adjust the table cloth speed, rail speed, pocket size and pocket cut... www.celeris.com use the promo code vp3pc1104 and you can purchase it for about 10 bucks, best money you ever spent...This can also be played on line against people all over the world...Give it a try