Blog probablykevin

"momenta" - love it!

Solid post.

Just to add on, inorder to sink all 6 balls, you would need to put a greater force on the cue ball. Greater force means greater impulse since it is equal to F\Delta t . With a greater impulse, the velocity of the cue ball would be greater since F\Delta t = m\Delta V . With a greater velocity, V/6 would be a fast enough speed for the balls to make it to the pockets before the deceleration due to friction brought them to a halt.

Just because you analyzed billiards physics in some way you get five stars. I would say that the orientation of the six billiard balls if they were grouped would usually create different resulting velocities from the initial momentum of the cue ball.

is this really true though, because I've played pool, and the cue ball does not always come to a stop right after it hits the other ball, and as a result that would change your equation and adjust your speed.

(sorry for the late reply) I think that the angle is what determines whether the cue ball is stagnant after the collision. In this case, the cue does stop moving and thus I would think that my equation works out, but it certainly is not all-inclusive of all billiards.