Billiard ball

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

A close-up picture of pool balls

[edit] US Billiard balls

In the US, billiard balls or pool balls usually refers to balls used to play various pocket billiards games . The balls are numbered and colored as follows:

1. Yellow
2. Blue
3. Red
4. Purple (pink in some tournaments)
5. Orange
6. Green
7. Brown or burgundy (tan in some tournaments)
8. Black
9. Yellow and white
10. Blue and white
11. Red and white
12. Purple and white (pink and white in some tournaments)
13. Orange and white
14. Green and white
15. Brown (or burgundy) and white (tan and white in some tournaments)

• Cue ball white

Note that balls 1-7 are often referred to as "solids" and 9-15 as "stripes" (colloquially they may also be, respectively, called "big ones and little ones", "highs and low", "spots and stripeds", etc.) In Australia and New Zealand, balls are respectively called "smalls" and "bigs" referring to how much white is on the ball. The English equivalent balls (like those of the pool game casino are in two unadorned suits, the "reds" and "yellows".

[edit] European Billiard balls

In the UK and Europe, billiard balls are the three balls used to play the games known variously as English billiards or carom billiards (of which three-cushion billiards is a variant) but generally just "billiards" in these areas. European billiard balls are not numbered. They are coloured as follows:

• Red
• White cue ball for player 1
• White with a spot (now sometimes yellow) cue ball for player 2

[edit] Composition of billiard balls

In the past, many balls were made of ivory; since the animals that produced this have become endangered species, other materials, such as wood and various plastics have been used.

In 1865, John Wesley Hyatt patented a composition material resembling ivory (Celluloid) for a billiard ball (US50359), winning $10,000 prize from Phelan and Collender of New York City for the best substitute for ivory. This was the first U.S. patent for billiard balls. Unfortunately, the nature of celluloid gave these billiard balls a tendency to occasionally explode, adding additional spark to the game but ultimately making this first plastic impractical for such use.

Modern billiard balls are most often made from phenolic resin.

[edit] Dimensions of billiard balls

On average, the balls are 2.25" in diameter and all balls weigh 5.5 oz. except for the cue, which weighs 6 oz. According to official BCA equipment specifications, the weight may be from 5.5 to 6 oz. with a diameter of 2.25 in, plus or minus .005 in.

[edit] See also

• Cue ball