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According to my research, I've seen Newton's Cradle that can last only 20-30 seconds max. Or the one that I bought very cheaply, only 5 seconds. I suspect the friction from the strings plays an important part in shortening its momentum. I could be wrong.

I wonder what are the factors that can make it last a long longer than that? What would I have to do to create a Newton's Cradle with the least friction that can maintain its momentum as long as possible?

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  • $\begingroup$ I'm just wondering why this question is off-topic. Perhaps "most perfect" is somewhat vague, but I can see the point of the question. $\endgroup$
    – Andrew
    Commented Nov 12, 2020 at 8:47

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Find steel balls that are as elastic as possible. This will require that you buy a representative of as many types of steel ball as you can find, and bounce them off of a very hard surface to identify which steel ball has the highest coefficient of restitution.

After that, try to eliminate all sources of "lost" energy, including sound, air drag, etc. This will necessarily require that you find a way to use your Newton's cradle in a vacuum, which by itself will eliminate sound and air drag.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. What about the strings attached to the balls? (type of strings, thickness etc.) $\endgroup$
    – Mac_79
    Commented Sep 17, 2020 at 20:43
  • $\begingroup$ Longer or shorter strings are affected differently by air drag, which will not exist in a vacuum. This means that I don't have recommendations for strings, since air drag will not be an issue. $\endgroup$
    – David White
    Commented Sep 18, 2020 at 2:00

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