PoolMechaniken

PoolMechaniken is the study of the mechanical principles governing the motion of balls in the pool (billiards) game on a cloth-covered table. It encompasses kinematics, dynamics, and collisions between balls, between balls and cushions, and between balls and the cue tip. The central objects are the cue ball and object balls, typically 2 1/4 inches (57.15 mm) in diameter and about 5.5 to 6 ounces (156–170 g) in mass, on a standard table.

Movement results from impulses delivered by the cue, friction with the cloth, and interactions with the cushions. Ball behavior is modeled with conservation of linear momentum, angular momentum, and often a coefficient of restitution to describe the elastic nature of ball-ball impacts.

During a shot, spin is imparted to the cue ball by the cue tip, producing top spin (follow), backspin (draw), or sidespin (English). Spin affects subsequent motion: friction with the cloth redistributes angular momentum into translational motion and can alter the path after collisions or after rubbing on the ball.

When two balls collide, the velocity transfer depends on the line of centers at impact; for glancing hits, deflection angles are governed by both momentum transfer and spin. The table’s cloth friction, ball-rail contacts, and pocket geometry influence trajectories and strategies.

PoolMechaniken informs training, tactics, and physics education, providing a framework to predict shots, estimate ball paths, and analyze errors. It integrates rigid-body dynamics, contact mechanics, and empirical ball behavior observed in real play.