eli5 – Why do tennis balls come in a plastic container that has a pop top?
In: 545
Tennis balls are pressurized at the factory, to give them better bounciness. Because the balls are porous, they’ll eventually lose their extra pressure. Putting them in a pressurized metal container means they won’t start losing their extra pressure until you pop the top of the container.
Like most air-filled balls used in sports, there is a preferred and/or required pressure for a tennis ball. That means that the ball has to have a certain amount of air in it for it to bounce properly.
Unlike many balls used in sports, tennis balls lack any way to refill them with air if they lose pressure. And since the materials used to make a tennis ball is not perfectly air tight, they will lose pressure over time.
The solution to this is to sell them in air tight canisters that are the same pressure as the air inside the ball. And that’s why they’re sold in sealed canisters. The pop top itself is just the easiest way to open them. Older containers had to be peeled, ripped, or cut open. Before sealed, pressurized containers were invented, tennis balls had a short shelf life.
[removed]
This was just posted to another subreddit today. Someone opened every can st Walmart. Turns out there are pressurized and unpressurized balls. The pressurized ones are better. They will slowly leak when opened.
[removed]
Wilson have developed an environmentally friendly ball ( or less environmentally destructive) that doesn’t need pressurisation saving the need to use plastic. They are also very durable so last ages. They play slightly differently than some balls but nothing that one can’t get used to – they were even used in a professional tournament I believe.
Not so fun fact- recycled plastic has microscopic holes in it, so every tennis ball canister requires virgin plastic to keep pressure
How else are they supposed to keep that amazing smell in there?
Latest Answers