A close-up picture of pool balls

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US Billiard balls

In the US, Billiard balls are balls used to play the game of US billiards. The balls are numbered and colored as follows: Billiards is a family of games played on a table, with a stick, known as a cue stick, which is used to strike balls, moving them around the table. ...

1. Yellow
2. Blue
3. Red
4. Purple
5. Orange
6. Green
7. Brown
8. Black
9. Yellow and White
10. Blue and White
11. Red and White
12. Purple and White
13. Orange and White
14. Green and White
15. Brown and White

• Cue ball White

Note that balls 1-7 are often referred to as "solids" and 9-15 as "stripes". In Australia balls are called bigs and small referring to how much white is on the ball. Yellow is any color of light that stimulates both the red and green cone cells of the retina, but not the blue cone cells. ... Blue is any of a number of similar colors. ... Red is any of a number of similar colors at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye. ... Purple is any of a group of colors intermediate between deep blue and red. ... The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 620–585 nanometres. ... Green is any of a number of similar colors. ... The color brown is produced by mixing complementary colors, such as red and green, orange and blue, or yellow and purple. ... Black is a color with several subtle differences in meaning. ... White is a color, (more accurately it contains all the colors of the visible spectrum and is sometimes described as an achromatic color—black is the absence of color) that has high brightness but zero hue. ... A cue ball resting atop pool chalk In billiard games, the cue ball is usually the ball that a player must hit with the cue. ...

European Billiard balls

In the UK and Europe, Billiard balls are the three balls used to play the games, known variously as English billiards or Carambole billiards (of which Three cushion billiards is a variant) but generally just "billiards" within respective countries. European billiard balls are not numbered. They are coloured as follows: English billiards is a form of billiards played on a 6 X 12 rectangular table with pockets in the four corners and in the middle of the long sides (see Snooker for markings and a diagram). ... Carambole billiards (or carom) is a billiards game possibly developed in the 18th century in France, though the exact date of invention is not clear. ... Carambole billiards (or carom) is a billiards game developed in the 18th century in France. ... Billiards is a family of games played on a table, with a stick, known as a cue stick, which is used to strike balls, moving them around the table. ...

• Red
• White Cue ball for player 1
• White with a spot (now sometimes yellow) Cue ball for player 2

A cue ball resting atop pool chalk In billiard games, the cue ball is usually the ball that a player must hit with the cue. ... A cue ball resting atop pool chalk In billiard games, the cue ball is usually the ball that a player must hit with the cue. ...

Composition of billiard balls

In the past, many balls were made of ivory; since the animals that produced this have become endangered species, other materials, such as wood and various plastics have been used. An elaborately carved ivory decoration Ivory is a hard, white, opaque substance that is the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth, narwhal, etc. ... The endangered Sea Otter An endangered species is a population of organisms (frequently but not always a taxonomic species) which is either (a) so few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters that it is at risk of becoming extinct. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood derives from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ...

In 1865, John Wesley Hyatt patented a composition material resembling ivory (Celluloid) for a billiard ball (US50359), winning $10,000 prize from Phelan and Collender of New York City for the best substitute for ivory. This was the first U.S. patent for billiard balls. Unfortunately, the nature of celluloid gave these billiard balls a tendency to occasionally explode, adding additional spark to the game but ultimately making this first plastic impractical for such use. 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... John Wesley Hyatt (November 28, 1837 – 1920) was a U.S. inventor. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive, and... Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents, generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic. ...

Modern billiard balls are most often made from phenolic resin. Phenolic resin can include any of various synthetic thermosetting resins, obtained by the reaction of phenols with simple aldehydes and used to make molded products, including pool and snooker balls, and as coatings and adhesives. ...

Dimensions of billiard balls

On average, the balls are 2.25" in diameter and all balls weigh 5.5 oz. except for the cue, which weighs 6 oz. According to official BCA equipment specifications, the weight may be from 5 1/2 to 6 oz. with a diameter of 2 1/4", plus or minus .005". The Billiard Congress of America was established in 1948. ...

See also

• Cue ball