Renowned for engineering the world‘s largest basketball hoop and building the highest hamster wheel, the science entertainers at How Ridiculous have document yet another extreme experiment that would make even Isaac Newton scratch his head. They assembled 500,000 heavy duty rubber bands into a 1.1 ton ball and enlisted a helicopter to bomb it from 450 feet. Captured in slow motion glory, this video reveals whether megalithic projectiles follow textbook theoretical trajectories. Should the Guinness Book of World Records expect new entries for the highest bounce? Read on for an in-depth expedition into the method, madness and physics magic behind this epic rubber band ball drop!
Building the Mother of All Rubber Band Balls
Custom ordering half a million rubber bands is no easy feat, but the How Ridiculous team knew standard office bands would explode under the immense pressures required. After sourcing 130mm wide super bands from China, they set upon the ambitious undertaking of hand linking them into the world’s largest elastic sphere.
The assembly process involved wrapping bands around a volleyball to initiate the core shape. Then 13 team members spent 65 hours continuously looping each band through the last, winding the orb larger and larger like an onion. This unique technique delivered an ultra dense, 1.2 meter diameter ball without any knots or loose ends to compromise stability.
- Specs of the Custom Rubber Bands
- Material: Highest grade latex
- Length: 130mm unstretched
- Width: 15mm
- Thickness: 3mm
- Tensile Strength: 200% baseline stretch
Weighing in at a staggering 1.1 tons, this record shattering sphere achieved unparalleled strength through uniform compression across its tightly packed bands. Unlike tying each end, looping the bands delivered flawless structural integrity to withstand immense drops.
- Metrics of the Mega Ball
- Diameter: 1.2m
- Circumference: 3.77m
- Surface Area: 4.52m^2
- Volume: 0.904m^3
- Density: 1.15 tons/m^3
- Mass: 1.1 tons
Now confident their bouncy behemoth could survive huge launches without bursting, the team set sights on smashing their personal best bounce heights.
Peaking Curiosity with Record Breaking Physics
Previous balloon drops with homemade rubber band balls reached dizzying heights up to 45 meters. So the How Ridiculous crew estimated this ball with 220 times more mass could theoretically attain a 60 meter vertical launch. But that depended on factors like drop altitude, air resistance, kinetic energy transfers and surface friction.
- Initial Drop Height = 450 feet
- Projected Bounce Height = 60 meters
Harnessing potential energy from maximum lift converts to fast downward momentum. Protective gear helps brace the ball’s structural integrity when it rebounds rapidly upwards by kinetic energy. Gradually, height decreases due to drag, friction and energy absorption by the ground. This energy leak makes each successive bounce smaller as “Jules are lost”.
- Potential Energy = Mass x Gravity x Height
- Kinetic Energy = 0.5 x Mass x Velocity^2
- Velocity = √(2 x Gravity x Height)
A prior cliff experiment with their 150kg, 0.6m prototype band ball resulted in ballistics analyzing a:
- 53 feet bounce from a 150 feet cliff fall
- Peak speed of 37 mph on first hit
- 5 total bounces covering 328 feet
So logically, doubling the initial 450 feet drop for their 1100kg mega ball should produce proportional results!
- Expected Bounce Height = 2 x 53 feet = 106 feet
- Peak Speed = 54 mph
- 5 Total Bounces = 2 x 328 feet = 656 feet!
After exhaustive planning using mock drops and statistics, the D-day arrived to airlift this high flying history maker!
One Small Bounce, One Giant YouTube Hit
Securing aviation clearance, a gutsy helicopter pilot hovered 450 feet above sea level over the scenic valley. On the ground below, cameras on cranes stood poised to trace the ball’s epic journey. 3, 2, 1…release!
Slow motion replays chronicle the tense 11 second free fall before fierce impact explosions of sand and dirt. Defying all odds, the tubby blue orb bursts forth reaching higher than a 10 storey building!
- Measured Bounce Heights
- Drop = 450 feet
- Bounce #1 = 48 meters (157 feet)
- Bounce #2 = 47 meters
- Bounce #3 = 38 meters
- Bounce #4 = 44 meters
- Bounce #5 = 49 meters
Though shy of the expected 106 feet, the gargantuan ball still clocked over 5 times the previous personal best! And it managed 5 mighty rebounds tearing up trees and landforms before the weakened structure disseminated rubber shrapnel across the valley.
- Total Bounce Distance = 226 meters
- Peak Speed = 65 km/hr
- Average Energy Loss Per Bounce = 15%
With solid proof their giant band ball could best such heights, yet more radical trials are already stirring imagination…
Reality Leaves Room for More Discovery
This mega drop demoed designing real life experiments aligned to academic theory. Physical dynamics outdoors involve more erratic factors than computer models though.
Lower than predicted trajectories showed energy escapes through ground friction, instead of perfectly elastic transfers. Still, the 47-49 meter leaps exceeded expectations for amateur science! It illuminates how realism grounds textbook concepts with tangible awe and uncertainty.
What outdoor engineering mischief can you conceive to tantalize gravity further?
- Should we commission a custom 10 foot diameter steel ball to nudgle the bounds of terminal velocity?
- Can a soccer stadium contain a super sized ping ball rally?
- Power a giant pinball maze with golf carts instead of flippers?
- Release a 10 ton tethered magnet down a copper coil ramp to generate mega watts of electricity?
The laws of physics decree no limits on scientific entertainment or curiosity. Let us hear your biggest, boldest, most outrageous ideas yet!