The Writing Machine
Due to its ubiquity, ballpoint pens are the most widely used writing machines to date.A machine makes a man’s work easy. The ballpoint pen is considered as a machine for it makes writing easy for humans. The ink cartridge, the socket, and the ball are the parts of the ballpoint pen that have a direct involvement to writing. Principles of gravity and friction make this writing machine work.
The Ballpoint Pen is a machine that facilitates writing. The primary component of a ballpoint pen is the ball thus it is called a “ballpoint”. It is the buffer between the paper and the ink inside the long plastic tube called the ink cartridge, Ausley (2000). The ball rotates through the socket so that the ink is fed from the ink cartridge to the ball without spilling the quick-drying colored liquid. The socket is perhaps the critical part of a ballpoint pen. It is designed to make the ball rotate freely, thus getting ink from the cartridge and leaving a mark on the paper simultaneously, once it touches the surface. It also keeps the ball in place so as to prevent the ball from getting into the cartridge or falling out from the socket. As the ball uses the ink from the outside face of the ball, the ink fills up the inside face so that the pen will write when it rolls out (TheGeminiGeek.com). Gravity helps the ink to fill the inside face of the ball. Frictional force makes the ball roll on a surface for it to leave a mark.
Diagram 1: The Ballpoint Pen (Cross Section) 
The socket of a ballpoint pen secures the rolling mechanism of the ball. The interior design of the socket is round, which matches the spherical shape of the ball. Two sides of the ball are exposed to the ink cartridge and to the writing surface (Diagram 3.0). There is a space between the edges of the socket and the ball, making it a perfect fit, enough for the ball to rotate freely like that of Diagram 3.1, Ausley (2000). What if the socket has a box-like design (Diagram 3.2)? Will it make the ball rotate easily? Will it secure the ball from not falling out or not getting in? Absolutely no.
Diagram 3.0: Socket Diagram
Diagram 3.1:
Close-up Diagram of the Socket
Diagram 3.2:
Weak Socket Design
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