Paintball Density...

[DarkShark]

Do different brands of paint vary in density? If so, what is the most dense brand? In theory, an extra dense paintball would travel further and more consistently than a less dense ball.

[Triggerman440]

about all i could tell you is that CORE paint is probably the least dense paint I have ever bought, i have a break about every 15 balls...NEVER BUY IT. PMI is a good brand i never had a lot of breaks and they seem to be very consistant

[E99Beekz]

yet again another intersting question...

[reneirwolf878]

CAll up the paint companies.

[xavier678]

in perfect circumstances it wont travel any further, it will go the exact same. w/air resistance it will travel a bit further but the amount we are talking about it miniscule and effectively irrelevent to the other factors effecting a paintball in flight

[E99Beekz]

YA! So take that! :P jk

[DarkShark]

The effects of air resistance on a paintball are not negligible. From the point of view of a projectile traveling at 200mph, air is a fairly viscous medium, and the forces associated with drag and turbulence are substantial. The paintball's mass determines how much the paintball accelerates due to these forces. The heavier the ball, the less its trajectory will be altered. The size of the ball is limited by the diameter of the barrel, so density is the only attribute that can affect the overall weight. The flight characteristics of paintballs with abnormally high densities are as follows:
1) The ball will follow a straighter trajectory because its increased mass will better resist the chaotic turbulence forces that act on it. (i.e. It will fly less like a knuckle ball.)
2) The ball's speed will be greater at the time it impacts the target. This corresponds to fewer bounces.
3) The ball will travel further before it hits the ground. This is a consequence of its increased average speed while it is in flight.

The downside of using denser paint is that one must increase the gas volume that hits the ball in order to achieve the same velocities. Also, the denser round would deliver more kinetic energy to the target, and would therefore hurt more.
I'm still interested though, and I appreciate all of your responses.

[xavier678]

okay, the effects of air resistance on paintballs arent negligable but the effects of one paintball weighing 3.2g adn a ball weighing 3.3g of the same size ARE negligable due to the 1000's of other factors acting on the ball.

[DarkShark]

The increase in the ball's performance would depend on the magnitude of the increase in density. A mass increase of a mere third of a gram represents a full 10% increase in mass over the standard ball. (Would this correspond to a shot grouping radius that is reduced by 10%? - Seems logical. If it is true, it would correspond to a shot grouping area that is smaller by 19%)
In this sport people routinely shell out a lot of cash for relatively minor improvements in performance. It seems to me that increasing a paintball's density could produce a small, but tangible benefit. (Possibly similar to selling one's Freak in favor of a Scepter.)
I really don't mean to make an issue out of this - I'm just thinking out loud.

[BOB_IS_COOL]

are you talking about the fill??

[DarkShark]

For all intents and purposes, I'm talking about the fill. The shell is so thin that changes in its density wouldn't have a measurable impact on the overall density.

[BOB_IS_COOL]

I noticed that Great American Paintballs seemed to have a lot of fill in them. It might just have been me though since it had been about a month since I played.