title: Can we obtain the coefficient of restitution from the sound of a bouncing ball?
abstract: The coefficient of restitution may be determined from the sound signal emitted by a sphere bouncing repeatedly off the ground. Although there is a large number of publications exploiting this method, so far, there is no quantitative discussion of the error related to this type of measurement. Analyzing the main error sources, we find that even tiny deviations of the shape from the perfect sphere may lead to substantial errors that dominate the overall error of the measurement. Therefore, we come to the conclusion that the well-established method to measure the coefficient of restitution through the emitted sound is applicable only for the case of nearly perfect spheres. For larger falling height, air drag may lead to considerable error, too.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Multiscale Simulations, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heckel
authors.affiliation: Institute for Multiscale Simulations, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany.|Physics Department, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Glielmo
authors.affiliation: Institute for Multiscale Simulations, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany.|Physics Department and Research Center OPTIMAS, University Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gunkelmann
authors.affiliation: Institute for Multiscale Simulations, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pöschel