Visualization of gravitational potential wells using 3D printing technology

There have been many studies of the dynamics of a ball rolling on different types of surfaces. Most of these studies have been theoretical, with only a few experimental. We have found that 3D printing offers a novel experimental approach to investigating this topic. In this paper, we use a 3D printer to create four different surfaces and experimentally investigate the dynamics of a ball rolling on these surfaces. Our results are then compared to theory.