When you drop a rubber ball on a hard surface it bounces to only a fraction of its starting height.
Today’s invention is a novelty device which overcomes that limit, by storing extra energy in a hidden, internal spring.
The ball is first squeezed, compressing the spring between the two hinged calipers which then lock ends together.
When the ball is dropped, the impact disengages the caliper ends allowing them to fly apart, react against the floor and provide an added upwards fling to the ball -beyond the bounce supplied by the rubber outer material.
(It may be that a version of this approach could be used to provide eg reactive armour for sports players and cyclists).
