Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from house starks dot com where
Speaker 1: smart Happens. Hi, I'm Marshall Brain with today's question, how
Speaker 1: does the ball return work on a coin operated pool table?
Speaker 1: If you've ever played one of those coin operated pool
Speaker 1: tables in a place like a restaurant or an arcade,
Speaker 1: then you know that the obvious question is how the
Speaker 1: heck does this thing return the cube all to me?
Speaker 1: If you look inside the table, there is a system
Speaker 1: of shoots that connect to all six pockets on the table.
Speaker 1: Each shoot sends a pocketed ball from the pocket to
Speaker 1: a collection chamber where the numbered balls are lined up
Speaker 1: in single file. These numbered balls remain locked in the chamber,
Speaker 1: which you can see behind a piece of plexiglass, until
Speaker 1: someone wants to play a game and insert some coins.
Speaker 1: Of course, the cue ball can't get stuck in this chamber.
Speaker 1: If a player accidentally pockets the cue ball, called a scratch,
Speaker 1: the cue ball needs to come back out so the
Speaker 1: players can continue playing. Table manufacturers needed a way to
Speaker 1: allow the cue ball to be returned to play while
Speaker 1: keeping the pocketed numbered balls locked in that storage compartment.
Speaker 1: Many solutions have been proposed to solve this problem, including
Speaker 1: light sensors that since the light reflected from the que ball,
Speaker 1: a metallic core ball that would trigger a separating mechanism
Speaker 1: when it passed through an electromagnetic field, a balanced mechanism
Speaker 1: that would separate a heavier cue ball from lighter number balls,
Speaker 1: and so on. For the most part, though, coin operated
Speaker 1: tables used two types of que balls that can be
Speaker 1: easily separated. The first is an oversized ball that can
Speaker 1: be separated by the radius of the ball using a
Speaker 1: radius gauging device. The second is a magnetic cube ball
Speaker 1: that triggers a magnetic detector. The oversized ball is approximately
Speaker 1: two and three ace inches or six centimeters in diameter,
Speaker 1: and it's about one eighth of an inch or two
Speaker 1: millimeters larger than a normal ball. This slight difference in
Speaker 1: size allows the cube ball to be separated before it
Speaker 1: gets to the storage compartment. The smaller numbered balls are
Speaker 1: able to pass through a gauging mechanism, while the larger
Speaker 1: cue ball is directed through a second shoot where it
Speaker 1: falls out into an opening on the side of the table.
Speaker 1: For players who dislike using a slightly larger cue ball,
Speaker 1: there's also coin operated machines that can use a magnetic
Speaker 1: ball in which a magnet is built into the core
Speaker 1: of the cue ball. Magnetic cue balls that go into
Speaker 1: a pocket are separated from number balls by a magnetic detector.
Speaker 1: As the magnetic ball passes this detector, the magnet triggers
Speaker 1: a deflecting device that separates the cue ball and again
Speaker 1: sends it into an opening on the side of the table.
Speaker 1: Both the oversized and magnetic cubeballs can be used interchangeably
Speaker 1: on most of today is coin operated tables, but each
Speaker 1: has its shortcomings. If you're a beginning pool player, the
Speaker 1: larger ball might not affect your play, but it can
Speaker 1: disrupt the play of some advanced players who are used
Speaker 1: to playing with the normal two and a quarter inch
Speaker 1: cue ball. Likewise, some players will notice the difference in
Speaker 1: the properties of a magnetic cube ball, which sometimes lacks
Speaker 1: a true role. Also, because the magnetic cubeball has a
Speaker 1: magnetic material inserted into it, it has a greater tendency
Speaker 1: to shatter if you drop it on a hard floor.
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