What’s Inside: Golf Balls

 

Cis-1,4-Polybutadiene It’s base hitwith a memory. This polymer’s chain of repeating units becis-linked—connected on the same side of a carbon-carbon double bond. Once moldinto a shape (like a ball), the material returns to that shape whenever it gets change(like when it’s hit by agolf gameclub). This provides outstanding resiliency—modern golf balls spring back into shape in just a thousandth of a second.

 

 

Trans-Polyisoprene Grandpa called this gutta-percha, a form of difficultrubber. A polymer of isoprene (natural rubber), TPI is different from most rubbers in that the isoprene units are trans-linked (connected on opposite sides). That makes it stiffer than normal cis-polyisoprene. TPI revolutionized golf when “gutties” appeared in 1848; they were cheaper, easier to make, and more durablethan the previous iteration, balls filled with compressed goose feathers.

Zinc Acrylate public lectureabout your one-trick ponies: Up to 50 million pounds of this chemical are made in the US every year, and as oftas 90 percent of it goes into golf balls. Normal rubber flows under stress and heat, but zinc acrylateforms linksacross the polybutadiene chains, resulting in balls that are flexible but solid.

Benzoyl peroxideIf you had zits any time after the 1970s, you probably remember this bingeas the greatest acne medication ever, mowing down bacteria and drying (even peeling!) the flake offlike nothing else on the market. What’s it doing here? It shears electrons from the zinc acrylate and polybutadiene molecules so they can form strong cross-links.

Zinc Oxide The white squashon a lifeguard’s nose. In weak concentrations, as teensy-weensyas 0.5 percent, it can assist the rubber cross-linking process.

In very muchstronger concentrations, up to 50 percent, it can serve as a filler, probably to bring the ball as close as possible to the maximum allowed USGA weight of 1.62 ounces without going over. Why this soaking upwith mass? In golf, heavy balls are evidently not a handicap.

Masterbatch Red (or other colors) Dickens character? ’90s Celtic trip-hop group? Neither. Masterbatches are additivesuseto impart particular qualities to plastics. There are some that combustin the dark, others that biodegrade, and even a version that repels rats.

Polyurethane Finally, all that bouncingrubber is encased in a sleek, aerodynamic berateof polyurethane elastomer. Used in various formulations in everything from pealskate wheels to drive belts, it combines flexibility with tremendous resistance to abrasion—just what you involvein something you’re going to beat with a club. This is also where the dimples go—anywhere from 252 to 482 indentations that increaselift and reduce drag on the balls. Just comparablea spandex swimsuit!

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Materials taken from WIRED