Firearms applications for Nanotechnology in golf balls?

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Merkin.Muffley

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If they can make a golf ball that adjusts it's flight - why not a bullet? Are any of the big bullet companies looking at this?

http://news.com.com/Nano+golf+ball+...ent+play/2100-1008_3-6037948.html?tag=nl.e404

Golfers can now use a golf ball that flies straighter than normal golf balls, and they can do so without getting hauled in by the tournament cops.

The U.S. Golf Association has approved the NDMX golf ball from NanoDynamics for tournament play.

The ball sports an unusual hollow steel core and a special casing that allows the ball to correct its flight slightly so that it goes where the golfer intended it, rather than to the side. The chemical and physical properties of the materials used in the ball help it redistribute its weight on the fly.

Other companies are touting nanotechnology for lighter bike parts, stiffer tennis rackets and socks that don't stink.

The USGA has been cracking down on technological changes in golf, fearing that it could take some of the competitiveness out of the game, according to Keith Blakely, CEO of NanoDynamics. The USGA can't outlaw things like drivers that send the ball farther than normal, but it can withhold approval for tournament play. This potentially discourages use and sales.

The organization found, however, that the NDMX fell within its guidelines. Though it's hard to quantify how much the ball might assist someone's game, early tests show that it can help.

"It depends entirely on how good or bad the golfer is. If a recurring problem is either hooking or slicing the ball off the tee, the NDMX ball will make a significant difference according to many of our beta testers," Blakely wrote in an e-mail. "Similarly, the ball appears to offer an advantage on the putting green that just might make the difference between an 'almost' and an 'in the cup' putt."

The company started selling the ball late last year on its Web site. A dozen cost about $60.
 
Ever since I read this I've been trying to figure out how such a thing would work. The best I could come up with is an inner shpere sort of thing that acts as a gyroscope to correct hooks and slices, since a properly walloped golf ball will have fairly heavy topspin...

Without a power source or some kind of active circuitry I can't fathom any other way to do it.

Doubtful anything like that would survive being shot out of a gun. But it's an interesting thought - The bullet that never misses.

Now, who wants to pony up 7 bucks a round?
 
I suspect it has to do with the way the ball rebounds off the face of the club, and modifying the materials properties of the ball so that it is less sensitive to small angle errors.

I doubt it's any sort of active flight correction--any sort of guided golf ball would automatically be banned from tournament play, though it'd be just the thing for showing off on that par 3...
 
My speculation is that the core material is somehow disconnected with the outer layers. Since it will be less affected by any spin imparted by the club onto the outer ridgid layers, it will tend to want to go in the direction it was first hit at. Similar to spinning an uncooked egg (still in its shell) and a hard boiled egg. The center of the uncooked egg will want to stay at rest and quickly slows the entire egg verses the hard boiled one wanting to spin until overcome by the friction against the surface it is on.
 
"Nano" is one of those buzzwords that usually doesn't mean what everyone thinks it means.

I'm also amused by, and skeptical of the thought of a mind reading ball that can discern the golfer's intent and make in flight course corrections.
 
It's all done by the little green men inside the ball. They run like heck, like a hamster on a wheel, and by adjusting their speed, modify the flight of the ball.

Just in case you were interested in the science behind this thing... :D

:neener:
 
"Similarly, the ball appears to offer an advantage on the putting green that just might make the difference between an 'almost' and an 'in the cup' putt."
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On a golf putt, several factors decide if the putt is in the cup, or a near miss. Ball pace, breaking angle (if any) to the hole (decided by several factors), correct read of the ball path, but NOT likely the result of a self adjusting/correcting ball being played. A bad putt is still a bad putt.
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In the words of P.T. Barnum "There's one born everyday".
Anyone interested in Arizona Beachfront property ?
:neener:
 
Preacherman said:
It's all done by the little green men inside the ball. They run like heck, like a hamster on a wheel, and by adjusting their speed, modify the flight of the ball.

Just in case you were interested in the science behind this thing... :D

:neener:
Click to expand...
Are these the same little green men that steal my handle screws and safety springs when I disassemble a firearm? I hate those guys. As for a "smart bullet". I remember seeing a scifi movie years ago where the bullet was pretty slow but would follow it target. Was pretty cool.:)
 
Sounds like modifying the flow properties around the ball. Trying to keep some effects in line. What affects the golf ball in flight? From spin: gyroscopic effect, Magnus effect (BTW bullets do rise if conditions are right); otherwise drag (that depends on some gradients, like temp and pressure), gravity. Usually word "nano" is a marketing trick, similar as "tactical" etc. Looks like magical "heat-seeking" bullets.
 
Zero_DgZ said:
Doubtful anything like that would survive being shot out of a gun. But it's an interesting thought - The bullet that never misses.
Click to expand...

The military either has, or is working on, a 25mm round that can be programmed to detonate an exact distance from the gun. Paint a building with a laser rangefinder, add 5 feet to the distance so it bursts inside the room, and shoot through the window.

Here's one of the articles on it, at Strategypage.

Even as far back as the 1950s-60s, VT (proximity) fuzes had lots of electronics in 'em. VT is essentially a radar emitter, that blows up when it gets within x-distance of something. Figure mid-20th C electronics, that could and did survive being shot out of a gun.
 
Those things are getting fired at much lower velocities, though, aren't they?

I know they've had timed and launched grenades for ages. Those have been (up until now, anyway) purely mechanical - No electronics involved. The number of spins (calculated with/from veolicity) determines how long until the thing goes off.
 
Refining my speculation.

Nano spheres acting as a dry lubricant between the metal core and the outer shell.
 
Zero_DgZ said:
Ever since I read this I've been trying to figure out how such a thing would work. The best I could come up with is an inner shpere sort of thing that acts as a gyroscope to correct hooks and slices, since a properly walloped golf ball will have fairly heavy topspin...

Without a power source or some kind of active circuitry I can't fathom any other way to do it.

Doubtful anything like that would survive being shot out of a gun. But it's an interesting thought - The bullet that never misses.

Now, who wants to pony up 7 bucks a round?
Click to expand...

I would like to see a press release from USGA before I believe it is a legal ball.

However, a properly struck ball will have back spin, not top spin. Typical driver spin rates are 2500 rpm. Well struck wedges or shorter irons will back up on the green after they land.

The $7 is up a little from the orginal announced price ($60/doz)
 
SkyDaver said:
I would like to see a press release from USGA before I believe it is a legal ball.

However, a properly struck ball will have back spin, not top spin. Typical driver spin rates are 2500 rpm. Well struck wedges or shorter irons will back up on the green after they land.

The $7 is up a little from the orginal announced price ($60/doz)
Click to expand...

Top spin = back spin, in my mind, anyway.
 
"Nano" is one of those buzzwords that usually doesn't mean what everyone thinks it means.
Click to expand...
Very true. Many people think "nanotech" means swarms of little tiny machines doing things. Maybe one day, but right now it's pretty much limited to mixing very, very small particles of "something" into another material to modify the properties, or maybe putting sub-wavelength structures on a surface.
Even as far back as the 1950s-60s, VT (proximity) fuzes had lots of electronics in 'em.
Click to expand...
Farther back than that - the proximity fuze was a WWII invention by the USA for anti-aircraft artillery. It was considerd to be so secret that for a while, the use of proximity fuzes was restricted to use only over water, so if a shell was a dud, it would sink in the ocean, where the other side couldn't find and reverse-engineer it.
 
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