|
Billiards Tables
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, Pool (cue sports), pool, Russian pyramid, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth (usually of a tightly woven worsted wool called baize), and surrounded by vulcanized rubber cushions, with the whole thing elevated above the floor. More specific terms are used for specific sports, such as snooker table and pool table, and different-sized billiard balls are used on these table types. An obsolete term is billiard board, used in the 16th and 17th centuries. Parts and equipment Cushions Cushions (also sometimes called "rail cushions", "cushion rubber", or rarely "bumpers") are located on the inner sides of a table's wooden . There are several different materials and design philosophies associated with cushion rubber. These cushions are made from an elastic material suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Carom Table In Café Zéphyr, Paris, France, 14 January 2007
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version is often written in one of two forms: the double-storey and single-storey . The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English, '' a'' is the indefinite article, with the alternative form ''an''. Name In English, the name of the letter is the ''long A'' sound, pronounced . Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. History The earliest known ancestor of A is ''aleph''—the first letter of the Phoenician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billiard Congress Of America
The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) is the governing body for cue sports in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ..., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).` Puerto Rico, though a US territory, and Mexico, though often classified as part of North America geographically, are both instead members of the Latin-American Confederación Panamericana de Billar (CPB) instead. It was established under this name in 1948 in sports, 1948 as a Non-profit organization, non-profit Trade association, trade organization in order to promote the sport and organize its players via tournaments at various levels. The BCA is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.''Billiards: The Official Rules and Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balkline Billiards
Balkline is the overarching title of a group of carom billiards games generally played with two and a red on a -covered, 5 foot × 10 foot, billiard table. The object of the game is to score points, also called ''counts'', by a player striking their cue ball so it makes contact with both the opponent's cue ball and the object ball on a single . A player wins the game by reaching a predetermined number of points. The table is divided by lines drawn on the surface, called , into marked regions called . Balk spaces define areas of the in which a player may only score up to a threshold number of points while the opponent's cue ball and the object ball are within that region. The balkline games were developed to be more difficult to play and less tedious for spectators than the precursor game, straight rail. The top players of straight rail became so skillful that they would score a seemingly endless series of points, with the balls barely moving in a confined area of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artistic Pool
A trick shot (also trickshot or trick-shot) is a shot played on a billiards table (most often a pool table, though snooker tables are also used) which seems unlikely or impossible or requires significant skill. Trick shots frequently involve the balls organized in ways that do not correspond to normal play, such as balls being in a straight line, or use props such as extra cues or a triangle that would not be allowed on the table during a game. As an organized cue sports discipline, trick shot competition is known as artistic pool. Competition formats Billiards trick shots are the subject of increasing international competition, both amateur and professional. There are world championships, such as the WPA World Artistic Pool Championships and the World Snooker Trickshot Championship (which has not been held since 2006), and made-for-TV events, such as '' Trick Shot Magic'' and the '' World Cup of Trick Shots'', often televised in both the US and the UK and providing enoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Straight Pool
Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a Cue sports, cue sport in which two competing players attempt to as many s as possible without playing a . The game was the primary version of Pool (cue sports), pool played in professional competition until it was superseded by faster-playing games like nine-ball and eight-ball in the 1980s. In straight pool, the player may and attempt to pocket any object ball on the table regardless of its number or color until only one object ball and the remain, at which point the other fourteen balls are re-Rack (billiards), racked. At this point, play resumes with the objective of pocketing the remaining ball in a manner that causes the cue ball to into the rack, spreading out the balls and allowing the player to continue the . The goal is to reach a set number of points that is determined by agreement before the game begins; traditionally 100 points is needed for a win, though professional matches may go higher. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lozenge (shape)
A lozenge ( ; symbol: ), often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of ''lozenge'' is not strictly fixed, and the word is sometimes used simply as a synonym () for ''rhombus''. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with two acute and two obtuse angles, especially one with acute angles of 45°. The lozenge shape is often used in parquetry (with acute angles that are 360°/''n'' with ''n'' being an integer higher than 4, because they can be used to form a set of tiles of the same shape and size, reusable to cover the plane in various geometric patterns as the result of a tiling process called tessellation in mathematics) and as decorative art, decoration on ceramics (art), ceramics, Silver (household), silverware and textiles. It also features in heraldry and Suit (cards), playing cards. Symbolism The lozenge motif dates from the Neolithic and Paleolithic art, Paleolithic period in Eastern Europe and represents a sown Field (agr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nap (textile)
Primarily, nap is the raised (fuzzy) surface on certain kinds of cloth, such as velvet or moleskin. Nap can refer additionally to other surfaces that look like the surface of a napped cloth, such as the surface of a felt or beaver hat. Starting around the 14th century, the word referred originally to the roughness of woven cloth before it was sheared."nap". ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. When cloth, especially woollen cloth, is woven, the surface of the cloth is not smooth, and this roughness is the nap. Generally the cloth is then "sheared" to create an even surface, and the nap is thus removed. A person who trimmed the surface of cloth with shears to remove any excess nap was known as a shearman. Nap typically has a direction in which it feels smoothest. In garments, nap direction is often matched across seams, because cloth will not only feel but look different depending on the direction of the nap. For this reason, sewing patterns frequently show the nap d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worsted
Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead (from Old English ''Wurðestede'', "enclosure place"), a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, formed a manufacturing centre for yarn and cloth in the 12th century, when pasture enclosure and liming rendered the East Anglian soil too rich for the older agrarian sheep breeds. In the same period, many weavers from the County of Flanders moved to Norfolk. "Worsted" yarns/fabrics are distinct from woollens (though both are made from sheep's wool): the former is considered stronger, finer, smoother, and harder than the latter. Worsted was made from the long-staple pasture wool from sheep breeds such as Teeswaters, Old Leicester Longwool and Romney Marsh. Pasture wool was not carded; instead it was washed, gilled and combed (using heated long-tooth metal combs), oiled and finall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woollen
Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast to worsted yarn, in which the fibers are combed to lie parallel rather than carded, producing a hard, strong yarn. Commercial manufacture The woolen and worsted process both require that the wool (and other similar animal fibres, cashmere, camel, etc.) be cleaned before mechanical processing. Woolen and worsted nomenclatures apply only to the textile processing of animal fibres, but it has become common to include fibre blends under these terms. The resultant fabrics will be classified as being either woolen or worsted, but this designation is assigned during fiber processing and yarn formation, not in the cloth or finished garment. A woven woolen fabric is one which is subjected to fabric finishing techniques designed to add a dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nylon
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieties exhibiting a silk-like appearance. As Thermoplastic, thermoplastics, nylons can be melt-processed into fibres, Thin film, films, and diverse shapes. The properties of nylons are often modified by blending with a variety of additives. Numerous types of nylon are available. One family, designated nylon-XY, is derived from diamines and dicarboxylic acids of carbon chain lengths X and Y, respectively. An important example is nylon-6,6 (). Another family, designated nylon-Z, is derived from amino acid, aminocarboxylic acids with carbon chain length Z. An example is nylon-[6]. Nylon polymers have extensive commercial applications, including uses in textiles and fibres (such as apparel, flooring and rubber reinforcement), molded components fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal wool. As an animal fiber, wool consists of protein together with a small percentage of lipids. This makes it chemically quite distinct from cotton and other plant fibers, which are mainly cellulose. Characteristics Wool is produced by follicles which are small cells located in the skin. These follicles are located in the upper layer of the skin called the epidermis and push down into the second skin layer called the dermis as the wool fibers grow. Follicles can be classed as either primary or secondary follicles. Primary follicles produce three types of fiber: kemp, medullated fibers, and true wool fibers. Secondary follicles only produce true wool fibers. Medullated fibers share nearly identical characteristics to hair and are long but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felt
Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood pulp–based rayon. Blended fibers are also common. Natural fiber felt has special properties that allow it to be used for a wide variety of purposes. It is "fire-retardant and self-extinguishing; it dampens vibration and absorbs sound; and it can hold large amounts of fluid without feeling wet..." History Felt from wool is one of the oldest known textiles. Many cultures have legends about the origins of felt-making. Sumerian legend claims that the secret of feltmaking was discovered by Urnamman of Lagash. The story of Clement of Metz, Saint Clement and Saint Christopher relates that the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters while fleeing from persecution. At the end of their journey the movement and sweat had turned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
