Quote:
Originally Posted by mikegrundvig
To that end, we need to know quite a few things starting with the ball diameter, density, and mass (does someone have the weight of the ball measured accurately?).
because determining the coefficient of friction for a pebbled surface seems exceptionally difficult.
Another potential nasty problem is the Magnus Effect.
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Diameter is 25"/Pi
Weight is 302 grams +/- about 2% (based on an unreasonable sample size of 3)
Density can be calculated, and is not necessarily uniform.
Also consider that the surface WILL change as the ball gets used in a tournament.
The Magnus effect is NOT trivial nor can it be ignored, if your launcher imparts spin greater than about 2 or 3 spins per second. That spin also has a significant effect upon how the ball will bounce after it hits the backboard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikegrundvig
no need to over-complicate it.
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Right. Use the match for a first order estimate, and go empirical from there.
BUT, understanding all those variables will come in handy when you try to solve any problems with variability of your trajectory.