Place a small rubber ball on top of a basketball or soccer ball and then drop them together. If vertical alignment nicely remains as they fall to the floor, you’ll see that the small ball bounces unusually high. Can you reconcile this with energy conservation?
To reconcile this phenomenon with energy conservation, we need to consider the principles of potential and kinetic energy.
When the two balls are dropped together, they both gain gravitational potential energy as they fall. This potential energy is then converted into kinetic energy as the balls accelerate towards the ground due to the force of gravity.
Now, let's analyze what happens when the balls hit the ground. Upon impact, the basketball or soccer ball will experience a larger force due to its greater mass and size compared to the smaller rubber ball. This higher force will result in a larger deformation of the basketball or soccer ball.
When an object deforms upon impact, some part of its kinetic energy is transferred into the potential energy stored in the stretched or compressed material. In this case, the larger basketball or soccer ball will absorb a significant amount of the energy, resulting in a lower rebound height.
On the other hand, the smaller rubber ball will deform much less, and therefore, a smaller portion of its kinetic energy gets converted into potential energy due to deformation. As a result, the smaller ball retains a larger proportion of its initial kinetic energy. This energy is then available to be transferred back into kinetic energy as the ball rebounds off the ground.
Hence, the smaller rubber ball bounces unusually high because it loses relatively less energy due to deformation upon impact. As a result, more of its initial kinetic energy is conserved, leading to a higher rebound height.
This phenomenon showcases that energy conservation still holds true. While the basketball or soccer ball involves more energy transfer into deformation, the smaller rubber ball conserves more initial kinetic energy, resulting in a higher bounce.