How does a Superball bounce so high?

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Karen Hill

Wham-O, the company that brought the world the Superball, starts with a good, bouncy rubber—in this case, Zectron, which is Superball’s trademarked name for the synthetic rubber polybutadiene with some sulfur added for reinforcement.

They take that and add a whole mess of pressure when they mold the ball. How much pressure?

The company says it’s about a thousand pounds per square inch as they heat the rubber to more than 320 °F.

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