Will a ball of glass bounce higher then a ball of rubber?

Answer 1

Yes it will. Although both balls will have the same amount of energy when they hit the ground, energy is spent trying to reform the rubber ball. The glass ball does not get deformed on contact and so it has more energy to bounce higher.

The resonance of glass is higher and creates more energy from the normal force pushing back up on the glass from the ground. This also has to do with the fact that a crack in glass travels hundreds of miles per hour. See Justinsearch below for other crazy facts.

I have serious doubts concerning the above. The only way a glass ball will bounce is if it falls upon a surface with some degree of elasticity. It would be the elasticity of the surface that would then propel the ball upwards. A glass ball falling any appreciable distance onto a solid granite slab will shatter, not bounce. The shatter is the result of the energy the above contributor says will make the ball bounce higher. Possibly, a ball made of extremely strong tempered glass may not shatter, depending on several factors. In such a case, the energy upon impact would crack the surface, or be absorbed by the ball and surface in the form of heat; some would be converted into noise. The reforming of the rubber ball is the very thing that propels the rubber ball upwards. If a ball were perfectly elastic, it would absorb a certain amount of energy on impact, and then it would expend all of that energy in the process of 'reforming'. A perfectly elastic ball would do this indefinitely, if you could eliminate all possible transfers of energy in the form of friction and other exotic effects. What we observe in the real world is that a rubber ball will bounce less high at each bounce because of the inevitable absorption of energy as it continues. When the ball comes to rest, it will have expended the same amount of energy that it had in potential form at the moment it was dropped. This would include some degree of heat that the ball inevitably absorbs. The energy in the glass ball is expended in the process of shattering the ball, and/or noise, heat, cracking of the surface, etc.

Above are some very true points. The idea is easier to see for most when you think of a glass ball of small proportions. A small glass ball will bounce higher than a small rubber ball, and if small enough it would not crack even on a granite slab from a great height. If the ball is to be larger and heavier yes it would need to be of a "extremely strong tempered glass". "The reforming of the rubber ball is the thing that propels the rubber ball upwards" yes exactly, from the normal force of the ground. However the more reforming that is needed, the more energy is lost, for example a flat ball.

Answer 2

No, a ball of glass will not bounce higher than a ball of rubber because glass is rigid and lacks elasticity compared to rubber, which is flexible and can store more energy upon impact, allowing it to bounce higher.