A ball is basically a round shaped object with different uses. It’s used in many ball games, in which the action of the game follows naturally the motion of the ball when it’s being hit, tossed or thrown. Balls can also be utilized for less complicated activities, like juggling or catch. For whatever uses a ball has, they all share a common goal: to make people laugh.
The origin of the ball is quite uncertain, but most likely came from the clay. Ball bearing can be dated back to around 400 BC, as dugout fields were constructed with hollowed out clay balls to carry water and other liquids. Over time, other materials were added to the ball, such as iron, bronze and steel. Eventually, ball bearings became a popular means of transportation, since boats could be constructed without wheels (on one flat piece) and the ball bearings would act as a counterbalance to balance the boat. This would make the boat more stable, allowing longer journeys and a greater variety of journeys – all while keeping people more comfortable on board.
Ball bearings thrust, or the angular momentum that their wheel can create, can be directional, circular or linear. Directional thrusts are caused by the rolling motion of a ball around an axis. Circular or linear thrusts are the product of two moving directions, and can either be clockwise or counter-clockwise around the axis. Since the ball can only be rolled on a single axis at a time, there is a great deal of angular momentum that can be generated in the process.
The first known use of ball is in ballistics, which is the art of shooting arrows. As stated before, a bullet is a hollow cylinder filled with a powder or gunpowder inside of it. When this bullet is fired, it creates a very strong shock wave, traveling in a straight line. The force of this shock wave pushes the bullet from side to side, creating a forward thrust. Since the entire circumference of a sphere is very small, this means that the balls have very little mass, making them very light and very soft.
With the advent of electronics, balls are starting to come along for the landing. Military applications include radar systems, missile launches, and gun fire. These devices use ball bearings working in the same manner as bullet proof vests do. They are used as guidance systems, creating the thrust necessary for the aircraft to reach its target. Ball bearings can also help with landing gears in landing crafts.
Ball bearings have had their fair share of trouble landing crafts. One historical instance of their being disabled during a landing was when they struck the top of an air-plane, creating a large hole. Another problem is that ball bearings tend to work best when the surface that they are playing on is not smooth like a road or a plane would have. Smooth surfaces have less friction and a higher likelihood of the ball bearing making contact with a hard surface which will negate any effects they might have.