Tennis ball ammo
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:53 pm
I've been thinking about the tennis balls that I'll be using as ammo for my up-coming tennis ball mortar.
Admittedly, I know almost nothing about tennis, but seem to remember that new tennis balls come in a slightly pressurized can, and the balls from a freshly opened can have a slight pressure in them, to make them bouncier.
I'm wondering if this means anything when used in a tennis ball mortar. No, I don't care about the bounciness. 8)
I'm thinking about the difference between a fresh tennis ball, and an old tennis ball, when it comes to the barrel seal. The ball would seem to flatten out a bit as the sudden burst of air hits it from the valve/chamber.
Just wondering if a new ball or a old ball would act any differently.
BTW, I'm not going to be using new tennis balls.
Now for the real question...
What if you poked a small hole in the ball, and used that to insert a short streamer of something like orange surveyor's tape? Seems like that would make it much easier to follow it's flight path, and be more visually satisfying for those watching.
Thanks,
Duane
Edit: Moderators, I just realized that I put this in the wrong place, but don't know how to move it. Sorry.
Admittedly, I know almost nothing about tennis, but seem to remember that new tennis balls come in a slightly pressurized can, and the balls from a freshly opened can have a slight pressure in them, to make them bouncier.
I'm wondering if this means anything when used in a tennis ball mortar. No, I don't care about the bounciness. 8)
I'm thinking about the difference between a fresh tennis ball, and an old tennis ball, when it comes to the barrel seal. The ball would seem to flatten out a bit as the sudden burst of air hits it from the valve/chamber.
Just wondering if a new ball or a old ball would act any differently.
BTW, I'm not going to be using new tennis balls.
Now for the real question...
What if you poked a small hole in the ball, and used that to insert a short streamer of something like orange surveyor's tape? Seems like that would make it much easier to follow it's flight path, and be more visually satisfying for those watching.
Thanks,
Duane
Edit: Moderators, I just realized that I put this in the wrong place, but don't know how to move it. Sorry.