A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid)[1] with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for simpler activities, such as catch or juggling. Balls made from hard-wearing materials are used in engineering applications to provide very low friction bearings, known as ball bearings. Black-powder weapons use stone and metal balls as projectiles.
Although many types of balls are today made from rubber, this form was unknown outside the Americas until after the voyages of Columbus. The Spanish were the first Europeans to see the bouncing rubber balls (although solid and not inflated) which were employed most notably in the Mesoamerican ballgame. Balls used in various sports in other parts of the world prior to Columbus were made from other materials such as animal bladders or skins, stuffed with various materials.
A ball, as the essential feature in many forms of gameplay requiring physical exertion, must date from the very earliest times. A rolling object appeals not only to a human baby, but to a kitten and a puppy. Some form of game with a ball is found portrayed on Egyptian monuments.[4] In Homer, Nausicaa was playing at ball with her maidens when Odysseus first saw her in the land of the Phaeacians (Od. vi. 100). And Halios and Laodamas performed before Alcinous and Odysseus with ball play, accompanied with dancing (Od. viii. 370).[5] The most ancient balls in Eurasia have been discovered in Karasahr, China and are 3000 years old. They were made of hair-filled leather.[6]
Among the Romans, ball games were looked upon as an adjunct to the bath, and were graduated to the age and health of the bathers, and usually a place (sphaeristerium) was set apart for them in the baths (thermae). There appear to have been three types or sizes of ball, the pila, or small ball, used in catching games, the paganica, a heavy ball stuffed with feathers, and the follis, a leather ball filled with air, the largest of the three. This was struck from player to player, who wore a kind of gauntlet on the arm. There was a game known as trigon, played by three players standing in the form of a triangle, and played with the follis, and also one known as harpastum, which seems to imply a "scrimmage" among several players for the ball. These games are known to us through the Romans, though the names are Greek.[5]
In sports, many modern balls are pressurized. Some are pressurized at the factory (e.g. tennis, squash (sport)) and others are pressurized by users (e.g. volleyball, basketball, football). Almost all pressurized balls gradually leak air. If the ball is factory pressurized, there is usually a rule about whether the ball retains sufficient pressure to remain playable.[9][10] Depressurized balls lack bounce and are often termed "dead". In extreme cases a dead ball becomes flaccid. If the ball is pressured on use, there are generally rules about how the ball is pressurized before the match, and when (or whether) the ball can be repressurized or replaced.
Due to the ideal gas law, ball pressure is a function of temperature, generally tracking ambient conditions. Softer balls that are struck hard (especially squash balls) increase in temperature due to inelastic collision.
In outdoor sports, wet balls play differently than dry balls. In indoor sports, balls may become damp due to hand sweat. Any form of humidity or dampness will affect a ball's surface friction, which will alter a player's ability to impart spin on the ball. The action required to apply spin to a ball is governed by the physics of angular momentum. Spinning balls travelling through air (technically a fluid) will experience the Magnus effect, which can produce lateral deflections in addition to the normal up-down curvature induced by a combination of wind resistance and gravity.
Alloys used for strings start from ore which is smelted using high heat to remove impurities. The material is cooled and forged into shape for conversion to wire. Our exclusive alloys used for Cobalt Slinky, M-Steel Slinky, and Aluminum Bronze strings are smelted to our exacting specifications to ensure optimum performance and consistency.
Our strings are made with the finest and freshest raw materials which are specified to exacting tolerances to ensure optimal consistency and performance. Strings consist of fine diameter wire which is supplied on spools. Each type of string consists of a specific combination of wire materials and sizes.
Guitar and bass ball ends are made using brass wire rod. The brass is machined and cut to exacting specifications to ensure a precise fit and function. The ball ends are then deburred, cleaned, and inspected before they are ready for use.
Wound strings consist of a core and a wrap layer. Cores are manufactured by cutting hexagonal shaped wire to length and twisting one end with a specific shape and twist count to attach a ball end. Once made, cores are loaded onto winding machines which spin the core while laying a consistent winding of wrap wire around the core.
Ernie Ball single strings are coiled and packaged individually in order according to specific Slinky gauge requirements. The Slinky sets are then processed and flow wrapped in air tight individual foil packs.
Packaged strings are checked for a quality seal using a pressurized water chamber which subjects packs to an elevated level of stress across every seal. This ensures that the packages are completely air tight and the quality of the seal is optimal.
We took the same triple locking velcro closure from our Filler Bags and applied this to the closing on the med ball throat. Then we added another layer of velcro with paracord laces to tie it up tightly. The opening is finished off with a Closure Flap that velcros on top to make the ball smooth with no friction points.
A school name is stenciled on the soccer ball, and his wife was able to translate the writing to trace it to a school. We have confirmed that the school was in the tsunami zone, but because the school is set up on a hill, it wasn't seriously impacted. This may be one of the first opportunities since the March 2011 tsunami that a remnant washed away from Japan has been identified and could actually be returned to its previous owner. When something gets washed up on a beach, unless it has a unique and traceable identifier, like the registration numbers on a boat, it can be difficult to tell if the item was set adrift by the tsunami, or if it was lost or discarded at sea some other time.
Marine debris is an everyday problem along the Pacific Coast, and buoyant items like bottles and plastics wash up on our coasts from Asia (and other places) all of the time. However, some of the most touching items found so far have been these sports balls from Japan. The story of where the soccer ball was found is also interesting. Middleton Island, Alaska, is by all definitions a very remote place. The 4.5 mile long island in the Gulf of Alaska is about 70 miles from the Alaska mainland, and 50 miles from the nearest island. A few people work on the treeless and windswept island, where they maintain the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Radar, Navigation, and Communication facilities there. Bird watching and beach combing are popular recreation activities there. It was David Baxter, a technician at the radar station, who ultimately found the sports balls washed up on the beach.
**UPDATE (4/24/2012): The soccer ball's owner, 16 year-old Misaki Murakami, has been located and confirmed that this is indeed his ball. He lost everything in the 2011 Japan tsunami and is grateful that this object of sentimental value has been found. He received it in 2005 as a gift from his classmates in third grade before moving to a new elementary school, and one of the messages on the ball reads "Good luck, Murakami!!" (or rather "Hang in there, Murakami!!"). David Baxter and his wife Yumi plan to send him the soccer ball. The volleyball found on the same Alaskan island a few weeks later has been traced to a 19 year-old woman, Shiori Sato, whose home was washed away in the Japan tsunami.
British singer Tom Ball, who placed second in Season 15 of Britain's Got Talent before coming in third on America's Got Talent: All Stars, is reflecting on the crazy journey he's been on since he entered the reality show. It's even changed his appearance, and the before-and-after will shock you.
Before he committed to music full-time, Ball was a classroom teacher in Burgess Hill. Now, he's got an online music school and has released his debut album, Curtain Call. Yep, he's definitely gone far.
"Six years ago, I met the love of my life and since then, so much has happened - from the highs to the lows, the victories to the challenges, and everything in between," he captioned an adorable post. "Through it all, I'm incredibly grateful for every moment we've shared and for the amazing woman who has been by my side. Here's to the past six years and to many more to come. Love you always, my wife. @hball22."
He also lets his fans in on his process. On Instagram, Ball revealed why he chose Radiohead's "Creep" for his final BGT performance. "?? Why did I sing Creep in the #AmericasGotTalent All Stars Grand Final?! Truth is, it means more than you know," Ball captioned the IG video. "Growing up, I didn't feel like I belonged, and a big part of that was because of my diabetes. When I was diagnosed I used to hide myself in music rooms so people wouldn't see me inject. So I sang 'Creep' as a message for me, and to anyone out there that feels like they don't belong, but they do."
Swagelok ball valves control fugitive emissions and leakage and can be used in a wide range of applications. They have been engineered for repeatable, leak-tight shutoff, have low overall cost of ownership, and include full-flow, one-piece instrumentation, three-piece process, trunnion-style, and multipurpose.
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