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Charged Balls

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A game of billiards where colored and striped balls behave as charged particles, i.e. striped balls attract colored balls but repel other striped balls.

The rules are as typical 8-ball, but additional force and path analysis need to occur to compensate for the additional electrical forces at play.

White ball is neutral.

Not to be confused with Electric Balls, or Electric Pool, both linked below

theircompetitor, Oct 13 2011

Electric Balls Electric_20Balls
[theircompetitor, Oct 13 2011]

Electric Pool Electric_20Pool
[theircompetitor, Oct 13 2011]

Coulomb's law http://en.wikipedia...Electrostatic_force
Published by a frenchman, plagiarising work which was English in origin (as usual). [8th of 7, Oct 14 2011]

[link]






       Is this a video game? If not, how will you implement it?   

       You might be able to do this with pucks on a Nair table. The pucks would have toroidal magnets, with north pole in the centre or the periphery. Tricky to get backspin, though.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 13 2011
  

       No, not a video game. The balls could be genuinely electrified with different polarity, I suppose magnets could be used as well
theircompetitor, Oct 13 2011
  

       May we draw to your attention that -   

       Billiards is played with a Red, White and Spot ball only.   

       Billiards is played by gentlemen, either in their own billiard room, or in their Club.   

       There are no Striped balls in Billiards. These are, as we understand it, used only by unenlightened Colonials to play a childish game called "pool" on a diminutive table.   

       Billiards is played with three balls, not eight, although we can understand how such a confuson might arise in a nation where counting beyond two merits an M.Sc. ("One, Two, Many, Lots").   

       Not to be confuesd with Billiards or Snooker.
8th of 7, Oct 13 2011
  

       // The balls could be genuinely electrified //   

       Which, if nothing else, would be a nasty surprise for that drunken asshole at the bar who thinks it's hilarious to grab the ball you're lining up on.   

       And, come to think of it, an entertaining prelude to the fate that typically befalls him shortly thereafter.   

       //       There are no Striped balls in Billiards. These are, as we understand it, used only by unenlightened Colonials to play a childish game called "pool" on a diminutive table.    //   

       I was going to say that there's nothing childish about a game that features more deadly weapons than it does players, but now that I think about it, there is definitely a palpable 'unruly playground' feel to your average biker bar.
Alterother, Oct 13 2011
  

       I like this idea. You could set up combos wherein the balls don't actually touch. [+]
Alterother, Oct 13 2011
  

       // combos wherein the balls don't actually touch //   

       So, when did you get back from Thailand ... ?
8th of 7, Oct 13 2011
  

       I didn't know the Borg were aware of such activities. Never would I have guessed that it would be at the forefront of the collective mind.
Alterother, Oct 13 2011
  

       Yes, well, you have that kind of effect upon those with whom you come into contact.
8th of 7, Oct 13 2011
  

       Was that... was that a compliment?
Alterother, Oct 13 2011
  

       //used only by unenlightened Colonials to play a childish game called "pool"//   

       We can have a "Do-Over" of the American Revolution any time you'de like, [8th].
MikeD, Oct 13 2011
  

       I'm game. Good thing, too, since they'd likely pull an Overlord and invade through Gulf of Maine (e.g. Wherever's just to the right of where everyone thinks the invasion's gonna be).
Alterother, Oct 13 2011
  

       wow, [21_Quest] as well as the linked idea therein.
theircompetitor, Oct 13 2011
  

       You have to let the Brits have a bit of their 18th-century arrogance, Mike. After all, it's the only bit of their empire that remains, and it would be sad to deprive them of their one remaining quality that gives them some waning semblance of national identity.   

       BTW, you'd think that on such a small island they'd all speak roughly the same language by now. They must not travel outside of their neighborhoods that much. I'd be concerned about inbreeding.   

       As far as invasion, personally, I'd worry about their close ties to the Canadians. They might succeed in taking over the Northwest Angle northerly bit in Minnesota.
RayfordSteele, Oct 14 2011
  

       //The balls could be genuinely electrified//   

       I think they tried that at Guantanamo.   

       But, do you have any conception of the voltages which would be needed to produce significant forces?
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 14 2011
  

       // We can have a "Do-Over" of the American Revolution any time you'de like //   

       Fine, that sounds like fun. Presumably you want another go at choosing a system of government that doesn't end up in an ever-spiralling plummet into irretrievable national indebtedness ?   

       We will need a short interval to issue our troops with muskets and nice red uniforms, get them to pipeclay their white crossbelts, and also make sure that all the officers are chinless, braying, unimaginative and rather backwards products of the English Public Schoo ... oh, no, wait, that bit's already fixed.
8th of 7, Oct 14 2011
  

       // But, do you have any conception of the voltages which would be needed to produce significant forces? //   

       None whatsoever, but I'll gladly listen to a seminar on the subject if anyone wants to give one.
Alterother, Oct 14 2011
  

       <cue [Vernon]>
8th of 7, Oct 14 2011
  

       No, no, anything but that!   

       Just kidding, [Vernon]. I'm actually really interested in how this idea could be made to work. I'm not sure I'll understand completely, but I'll try to keep up. Anybody?
Alterother, Oct 14 2011
  

       Here is your homework:   

       <link>   

       There will be a lecture tommorrw. Pay attention, you will be asked questions later.
8th of 7, Oct 14 2011
  

       A few kV is enough to lift a strand of long hair.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 14 2011
  

       Needs a better name.
blissmiss, Oct 15 2011
  

       //government that doesn't end up in an ever-spiralling plummet into irretrievable national indebtedness ?//   

       Touche.   

       I believe the plummet began where the morals ended.
MikeD, Oct 15 2011
  

       … i.e. just after the Brits left …   

       Canada, now… a much longer period of Anglo-Saxon influence, a marginally better reputation for fiscal prudence compared with their neighbours to the South, and a long and solid tradition of invading the USA, capturing Washington, and burning the White House…
8th of 7, Oct 15 2011
  

       Yes, but on the downside they're Canadian.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 15 2011
  

       Thus more deserving of pity than condemnation, shirley ?
8th of 7, Oct 15 2011
  

       // There will be a lecture tommorrw. Pay attention, you will be asked questions later. //   

       Okay, I have a pretty good grasp on everything that doesn't involve greek characters. My impression thusfar is that scalar dynamics may not be the right fit for table games, yes?
Alterother, Oct 15 2011
  

       Bah. They said the same thing to the Wright Brothers
theircompetitor, Oct 15 2011
  

       No, they didn't. They said, "Sorry, you're going to WHAT ?" And then they fell of their barstools laughing.   

       Theyre not laughing now. That's because they've all been dead for over 70 years, which tends to put a bit of a crimp in one's sense of humour.
8th of 7, Oct 15 2011
  

       leaving aside the lets re-fight the war of independence for a moment....   

       I'm guessing this might take a bit of processing power, but switch-able electromagnets in the [insert name of game] balls so they repel or attract as appropriate.   

       Or for more interest, magnetise a whole load of pins, bang a load of them into the [insert name of game] balls with the North end inwards, then you could magnetise the table top South and et voila maglev [insert name of game]
not_morrison_rm, Oct 17 2011
  

       mmMSnooker monopoles … cool !   

       Rare-earth magnets embedded in a hollow acrylic sphere could do this. There'll be a certain amount of lateral force between the magnets, but if they don't extend too deeply towards the centre, they should stay magnetised OK…   

       A uniform flux over a wide area is tricky but not impossible.   

       Since the balls would all repel one another, the mechanics would be somewhat challenging. At lower speeds, it's doubtful there would be any actual collisions.   

       Hmmmm… eddy currents … iron losses … right-hand dynamo rule… hmmmm…
8th of 7, Oct 17 2011
  

       Once you own Bohr walk and Planck place it's just too easy.   

       [2_fries] you should try playing with the Pauli rule, which prohibits building hotels on two properties of the same color. That evens things up a bit.
mouseposture, Oct 18 2011
  

       //mmMSnooker monopoles … cool !... A uniform flux over a wide area is tricky but not impossible.//   

       Nope, impossible. It's basic physics. The magnetic flux through a closed surface is always zero, so you can't make monopoles with dipoles.
ldischler, Oct 18 2011
  

       //Nope, impossible. It's basic physics. //   

       Do I detect a challenge here.... "and they said [insert name of obviously mad person here] was mad....I'll show them"..cuts to later fitting of that nice canvas jacket, the one with the very long sleeves with the buckles on...
not_morrison_rm, Oct 18 2011
  

              //Nope, impossible. It's basic physics. //      

       I think we can all agree that physics has passed well beyond the realm of the merely possible. In the modern era, wherein 'impossible' only means 'nobody has yet tried it and succeeded/survived', telling a Halfbaker that something is 'basic physics' just makes it easier. It's like saying "you can't solve this with simple arithmatic because some of the numbers aren't real. You'll have to use a few Greek characters to make it work."
Alterother, Oct 18 2011
  

       Could you arrange the poles in an inner pole / outer pole arrangement, so that all of the North poles are at the sphere's center?
RayfordSteele, Oct 18 2011
  

       //[insert name of obviously mad person here]//   

       <raises hand>   

       Oooh oooh pick me! pick me! I got one! Jules Vern! Is Jules Verne right? Was it Jules Verne? I saw this on "Vanilla Sky", it's Jules Verne! Juuuules Veeerne!
MikeD, Oct 18 2011
  

       //it's Jules Verne!//   

       Stupid question, but while Jules Verne, in particular?   

       Anyway, surely the smart money would be on a way to distort the geometry of the Earth to such an extent that only one of the poles would be on the outside, and we'd have out own monopole planet which'd be really useful for...erm...uhh...gimme a minute..   

       [fails to see the red dot creeping across the wall towards him as the hitman from the Compass makers cartel gently squeezes the...]
not_morrison_rm, Oct 19 2011
  

       What you could do with magnets, Rayford, is have the balls react in wildly unpredictable ways so that no ball could be sunk except by accident. Balls would roll off on their own and collect into islands on the table. Spooky.
ldischler, Oct 19 2011
  

       To get the balls to interact (other than impact) there's really only 3 ways to do it:
1: Electric fields - feasible with lightweight balls, statically charged (probably the whole table, balls and all charged).
2: Magnetic fields - the issue of monopoles on one hand, but perhaps an internally freefloating weighted magnet? (Not sure which way it would 'point').
3: Gravity - either make the balls really heavy and the surface almost completely frictionless, or try a 'rubbersheet geometry' approach.
Mostly you could only get one direction of interaction (either attraction or repulsion, but not a mix) unless you do really tricky things with magnets.
neutrinos_shadow, Oct 19 2011
  

       4. Employ a small team of monkeys.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 19 2011
  

       //4. Employ a small team of monkeys.//   

       Who'd subcontract it out to the ants again, and we all know how that one worked out last time. All it really needs is some kind of repulsion effect, or some kind of analogue.   

       I was thinking of some kind of ball that has a layer of very small coil guns that could shoot tiny chunks off it to give the floating effect, power to be be fed in by microwave and wi-fi connection to the pc running the whole shebang.   

       Probably wouldn't need any shielding for the players above that enjoyed by knights in the medieval period.   

       So, we could have the whole floaty bit, the ball change direction bit and free up space in draughty old castles while only causing minor wounds to onlookers and passers by.
not_morrison_rm, Oct 19 2011
  

       This game could never get started because the balls wouldn't stay in formation before the break.   

       Sorry, but I think this idea will fail because you'll end up with clumps and lineups of balls "kissing" all over the table. This takes a lot of the fun out of pool. I suggest that ALL the balls be the same charge so they all repel each other.
phundug, Oct 20 2011
  

       //the balls wouldn't stay in formation before the break//
The balls should have not only charge, but also the strong and weak force (and also gravity, but that would be negligible on this scale). That way, the break would work just fine -- it would be fission.
Can't imagine an implementation, though, outside of VR.
mouseposture, Oct 20 2011
  

       I am having this sneaking feeling that magnet-wise and mag-lev wise this has already been done, as I have seen floating globes of the world (like, which other world would it be?) and it's not attraction, it's repulsion. Or maybe I'm completely wrong on that?   

       On a complete aside, if someone purchased two of the globes, in the larger size, they'd be well on the way to owning their own mag-lev Pamela Anderson...
not_morrison_rm, Oct 20 2011
  
      
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