A Super Ball (aka SuperBall) is a toy based on a type of synthetic rubber invented in 1964 by chemist Norman Stingley. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron which contains the synthetic polymer polybutadiene as well as hydrated silica, zinc oxide, stearic acid, and other ingredients. This compound is vulcanized with sulfur at a temperature of 165 degrees Celsius and formed at a pressure of 3,500psi. The resulting Super Ball has an amazingly high coefficient of restitution. Dropped from shoulder level, Super Balls snap nearly all the way back; thrown down by an average adult, it can leap over a three-story building. Toys similar to Super Balls are more generally known as bouncy balls, a term which covers other balls by different manufacturers with different formulations.
Read more about Super Ball: History, Physical Properties, Patent, Further Reading
Famous quotes containing the word ball:
“Any balance we achieve between adult and parental identities, between children’s and our own needs, works only for a time—because, as one father says, “It’s a new ball game just about every week.” So we are always in the process of learning to be parents.”
—Joan Sheingold Ditzion, Dennie, and Palmer Wolf. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 2 (1978)