The Hidden Mathematics of Sport by Rob Eastaway

Author:Rob Eastaway
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

How big are these errors in terms of distance? Suppose the distance between the white and the black is about 50cm (probably on the low side for many snooker shots). How does an error in the angle at which the player directs the white translate into an error in the black ball? The maths (or Sod’s Law, if you want to view it that way) says that when the object ball is 50cm away:

• If it is a dead straight shot – that is, if A in the diagram on here is zero – then even at this short range, any error in straightness is magnified about ten times.

• If you want to deflect the ball at 45 degrees, for example when attempting to pot a ball on the green spot into the near corner, with the white placed on the yellow spot, the magnification factor for an error is close to 15.

• With the black ball on its own spot, a metre or so from the corner pocket, an error of even one-third of a degree in the white’s direction will mean the black ball ends up three centimetres off target. That is quite enough to guarantee that it rattles out of the jaws of the pocket.

And the larger the original distance between the two balls, the more the error in the direction you send the ball is magnified. Double the distance between white and black and you more than double the error on the black.

All of this only increases our admiration for the consistent skill shown by the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump.

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