I am late to the party...
but found out a bit more about the reaction. Apparently the water was fairly hot when the ball was put in it causing a Leidenfrost reaction (see here for more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect).
(, Thu 10 Jan 2013, 13:43, Share, Reply)
woo Leidenfrost effect!
I learned about this just before xmas at a warwick uni xmas physics lecture thingy. The Leidenfrost Effect means you can quickly dip you hand int a vat of liquid nitrogen without it freezing. basically the massive difference in temperature means there is an insulating layer of gas between the hot object and the cold object (which is easily visible in he video above), first time i'e actualy seen it visibly though.
(, Fri 11 Jan 2013, 12:26, Share, Reply)