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Biliard ball In the carom games such as straight billiards ("straight rail"),
three-cushion billiards and backline, as well as English billiards, there are two
cue balls and a red ball. One of the cue balls is typically white and the other
one is either yellow or white with a red dot. These balls are normally 23-4 inches
(69.9 mm) in diameter.
Various specific ball properties such as hardness, friction coefficient and resilience
are very important. Coin-operated pool tables historically have often used either
a larger ("grapefruit") or denser ("rock", typically ceramic) cue ball, such that
its extra weight makes it easy to separate it from object balls (which are captured
until the game ends and the table is paid again for another game) so that the cue
ball can be returned for further play, should it be accidentally pocketed. Modern
tables usually employ a magnetic ball of regulation or near-regulation size and
weight, since players have rightly complained for many decades that the heavy and
often over-sized cue balls do not "play" correctly.
The exacting requirements of billiards are met today with balls cast from phenolic
resin. Historically, balls were often made of clay, and even ivory for a period.
In the mid-19th century, in an uncommon show of accidental environmentalism, the
billiard industry realized that the supply of elephants (their primary source of
ivory) was limited. They challenged inventors to come up with an alternative material
that could be manufactured. John Wesley Hyatt answered the call by inventing cellulose
nitrate in 1870, branded under the name celluloid, the earliest industrial plastic.
Subsequently, to fix the problem of cellulose nitrate instability, the industry
experimented with various other synthetic materials for billiards balls such as
bakelite and other plastic compounds. Eventually phenolic resin became the industry
standard and is virtually the only billiard ball material used today.