Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

How does science work? And what's all this about quantum mechanics?

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Philosophy Explorer
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Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

Take a good hard metal ball made out of steel and bounce it against the pavement. Will it ever stop bouncing? Does it bounce a finite number of times? Does it depend? (maybe a vacuum would make it easier)

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vegetariantaxidermy
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by vegetariantaxidermy »

Does this have anything to do with philosophy L?
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HexHammer
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by HexHammer »

This seems more like attention whoring than an attemt to do philosophy.
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

Would you like me to do a "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" type of thread instead?

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vegetariantaxidermy
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by vegetariantaxidermy »

Why would the ball have to be metal? How could it possibly bounce an infinite number of times? A ball loses energy after each bounce.
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

vegetariantaxidermy wrote:Why would the ball have to be metal? How could it possibly bounce an infinite number of times? A ball loses energy after each bounce.
It's been given to me that metal balls bounce better than other types of balls. With respect to your second question, can it bounce an infinite number of times in a finite amount of time? (to be fair about it, this question has been discussed before)

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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by Ginkgo »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:
vegetariantaxidermy wrote:Why would the ball have to be metal? How could it possibly bounce an infinite number of times? A ball loses energy after each bounce.
It's been given to me that metal balls bounce better than other types of balls. With respect to your second question, can it bounce an infinite number of times in a finite amount of time? (to be fair about it, this question has been discussed before)

PhilX
Transfer of energy would be the short answer.
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HexHammer
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by HexHammer »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:Would you like me to do a "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" type of thread instead?
I would like you to either shut up, fuck off or shape up.

The choise is yours!
Blaggard
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by Blaggard »

yes it does. Next question.
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vegetariantaxidermy
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by vegetariantaxidermy »

I guess this just shows that maths can't explain everything. Maths and physics. Two peas in different pods. Maths is too exact for the way the Universe actually works.
Last edited by vegetariantaxidermy on Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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RickLewis
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by RickLewis »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:Take a good hard metal ball made out of steel and bounce it against the pavement. Will it ever stop bouncing? Does it bounce a finite number of times? Does it depend? (maybe a vacuum would make it easier)

PhilX
Does it make a noise each time it hits the pavement? If so, then some of its energy is being converted into air vibrations, so for that reason alone it will eventually stop bouncing.

Incidentally, I'm not convinced that a steel ball will bounce even as often as a rubber one - have you tried it out yet?
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

RickLewis wrote:
Philosophy Explorer wrote:Take a good hard metal ball made out of steel and bounce it against the pavement. Will it ever stop bouncing? Does it bounce a finite number of times? Does it depend? (maybe a vacuum would make it easier)

PhilX
Does it make a noise each time it hits the pavement? If so, then some of its energy is being converted into air vibrations, so for that reason alone it will eventually stop bouncing.

Incidentally, I'm not convinced that a steel ball will bounce even as often as a rubber one - have you tried it out yet?
Never had the opportunity. Over at another website, I was informed that way by a person with the handle of Geordie Ross. Sure wouldn't mind giving it a try.

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The Voice of Time
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Re: Does the ball ever stop bouncing?

Post by The Voice of Time »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:Take a good hard metal ball made out of steel and bounce it against the pavement. Will it ever stop bouncing? Does it bounce a finite number of times? Does it depend? (maybe a vacuum would make it easier)

PhilX
How would you make it bounce to begin with without first destroying it?
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