Surprises in the Math of Bouncing and Rolling: Finding Stability Where Randomness and Chaos are Expected with Renato Feres
Renato Feres from Washington University in St. Louis will be presenting this week's Saturday Science lecture on Surprises in the Math of Bouncing and Rolling: Finding Stability Where Randomness and Chaos are Expected.
The highly bouncy Wham-O Superball toy was a national craze around the mid 1960's. This highly elastic rough ball has a number of odd properties. For example, it returns to hand after being thrown under a table and bouncing against the table underside. In this conversation, we will play with the ideal (mathematical) superball, explore some of its bizarre properties, and use it to reflect on the notions of chaos and stability in mechanical systems. Along the way, we will see connections with other curious effects such as rim-out in basketball and golf lip-out, and observe how we can gain insight into superball mechanics by stepping out into the fourth dimension.