What Are Pool Balls Made Out of?

Whether one is playing 8-ball or 9-ball, one-pocket or straight pocket, the game of pool requires three things: a pool table, some cue sticks and a set of hard, colored pool balls. These pool balls have a long history, and have been created using many different materials over the years.

Identification

A pool ball is more accurately called a "billiard ball," and in fact the game itself is formally called "pocket billiards."

Original Balls

Billiard balls were originally made of carved and polished wood, and the most expensive sets were made of the best woods.

Other Materials

Other popular materials for billiard balls included clay, which was cheaper to produce and easier to shape into spheres, and ivory, which became so popular that demand for billiard balls caused an increase in the slaughter of elephants during the 1800s.

Plastic

In 1869, a man-made polymer, nitrocellulose (later called Celluloid), was patented specifically for use in billiard balls. It was one of the first industrial plastics.

Modern Materials

Today, several industrial plastics are used to manufacture billiard balls, including polyester, acrylic and thermosetting (heat-curing) polymers.

Fun Fact

Because nitrocellulose was unstable and explosive in its raw form, an urban legend existed for many years that claimed a pool ball could explode if it struck another ball with too much force.