Abstract & Overview of Part 2: |
Introduction: |
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This experiment was conducted to find if cleaning a table tennis racket and keeping it in a case preserved its power and spin. Through the use of a bounce efficiency test and a spin test to measure the angle of reflection (using a ball launcher), it was found that cleaning a racket and keeping it in a case does preserve the racket. On low-level competition equipment, the difference is noticeable, but on lower-level recreational equipment, the difference is likely unnoticeable for a recreational player.
There is a link to the full scientific writeup at the bottom of the page. |
Spin plays a large part in most, if not all, ball sports. In no sport is the Magnus Effect more conspicuous than in the sport of table tennis. The small, light ball can spin up to 150 revolutions per second in a match situation. (Qun, et al., 1992) This is due largely to technique, but the level of spin has greatly improved since the 1950s, due to the invent of “sandwich rubber”, or “Inverted rubber” as opposed to the old pimpled rubbers. This greatly increased surface area and spin changed the sport and history, as players now looked to optimise the spin of their rackets. After years of playing with glues to change the sponge thickness, and the consequential banning of certain glues, players realised that rubbers were getting expensive, and after the banning of substances other than water to clean the racket, many club-level and recreational players wondered if cleaning the racket was still beneficial. As I found in How Spin Works, various substances can increase the spin of racket, but to what degree does water preserve it? And it is worth keeping the racket in a case, and how does this apply to the average competitive and recreational player? An average club player will often replace rubbers once or twice a year, with many rubbers costing up to $90 each. This can add up to $360 a year in equipment very quickly. More serious players will often change rubber every three or four months – so preserving rubbers for a few weeks could both save players fortunes worldwide and also greatly reduce the worldwide consumption of natural and synthetic rubbers.
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There are three different versions of the How Spin Works. The first is an older version, the second is a newer, but not fully formatted version, and the third is one that has been adapted to make more sense from a physics standpoint (UTAS Investigation version)..
| How Spin Works Part 2 Report (old).docx |
| how_spin_works_part_2_report.docx |
| how_spin_works_part_2_report__utas_version_.docx |
References:
Knorn, Florian. "Ball bouncing in slow motion: Squash ball." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1Ha7aKpIYs
Letts, Greg. “Spin in table tennis/ Ping-pong – How does it work and how do you create it?.” About.com Table Tennis / Ping-pong. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://tabletennisabout.com/od/spin/ss/spinworkcreat_4.htm
Nave, R. (n.d.). Bernoulli Effect. Retrieved March 3, 2016, from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pber.html
“Qun, W., Zhifeng, Q., Shoafa, X. and Enting, X. (1992). Experimental Research in Table Tennis Spin. [online] ITTF.com. Available at: http://www.ittf.com/ittf_science/SSCenter/docs/199208013-%20Wu%20-%20Table%20Tennis%20Spin.pdf [Accessed 9 Apr. 2016].
"Table tennis." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 March 2016. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis
UV Degradation Mechanisms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2016, from http://www.drb-mattech.co.uk/uv degradation.html
UV Additives. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://www.drb-mattech.co.uk/uv additives.html
Letts, Greg. “Spin in table tennis/ Ping-pong – How does it work and how do you create it?.” About.com Table Tennis / Ping-pong. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://tabletennisabout.com/od/spin/ss/spinworkcreat_4.htm
Nave, R. (n.d.). Bernoulli Effect. Retrieved March 3, 2016, from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pber.html
“Qun, W., Zhifeng, Q., Shoafa, X. and Enting, X. (1992). Experimental Research in Table Tennis Spin. [online] ITTF.com. Available at: http://www.ittf.com/ittf_science/SSCenter/docs/199208013-%20Wu%20-%20Table%20Tennis%20Spin.pdf [Accessed 9 Apr. 2016].
"Table tennis." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 March 2016. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis
UV Degradation Mechanisms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2016, from http://www.drb-mattech.co.uk/uv degradation.html
UV Additives. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://www.drb-mattech.co.uk/uv additives.html
