I read somewhere that a good rubber ball will bounce back two thirds of the drop height. The original plan was to go to the top of a tall building, drop the ball then run down stairs to two thirds of the height to see if you could catch the ball on the way back

BUT now all I want to do is to get one of those massive rubber band balls (as made famous by competing farmers somewhere in US), hang it from the bottom of a hot air balloon (a big one, or a chinook) take it a mile high, and cut the rope. I had envisaged doing it over an old airfield.

Oh, and film it for repeat viewings.
-- Mony a Mickle, Nov 13 2008

Rubber Band Ball story (probably not [Snoyes]'s) http://www.walesonl...l&objectid=12779931
[phundug, Nov 13 2008]

world's biggest rubber band launch http://www.videosif...Rubber-Band-Be-Shot
the result will surprise you [samosa_pirate, Nov 14 2008]

//The original plan was to go to the top of a tall building, drop the ball then run down stairs to two thirds of the height to see if you could catch the ball on the way back//
Better yet to make a carefully timed bungee leap, so that the bottom of the leap coincides with the top of the bounce.
-- coprocephalous, Nov 13 2008


// the bottom of the leap coincides with the top of the bounce. //

And bring a paper bag, to carry your teeth home afterwards .....
-- 8th of 7, Nov 13 2008


Ripley's Believe it or Not did just that (they used a plane, rather than a balloon or helicopter). The ball exploded on impact. When they found the crater some minutes later, many of the chunks of rubber band were still vibrating.
-- snoyes, Nov 13 2008


How do you add rubber bands to a ball that's already two feet in diameter? Do you make a rubber band chain and wrap it around and then tie a knot?
-- phundug, Nov 13 2008


anything involving rubber bands gets (+). The more the better. Even better to have thousands in a ball.
-- samosa_pirate, Nov 14 2008


//How do you add rubber bands to a ball that's already two feet in diameter?//

They use giant rubber bands. They're used for holding large items together in shipping.
-- nomocrow, Nov 14 2008


You can only drop it from so high before the law of diminishing returns takes effect. (aside - who the hell passed that law? Let us all join in the effort to repeal it!)

The ball reaches terminal velocity after it has been falling a while and then any higher does not make it bounce any further higher.

Or you drop it in vaccuum.
-- neelandan, Nov 14 2008


//falling a while//

How long's that then? About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea?
-- Mony a Mickle, Nov 14 2008


Snoyes has exactly the same story as in the link, i think.
-- hattiel, Nov 15 2008


Yeah, it's baked. Wish I'd seen it. If they had done it from a balloon they could have taken it up a little bit, dropped it and repeated higher and higher until disintegration.
-- Mony a Mickle, Nov 15 2008



random, halfbakery