Green ball grinding method, ceramic sphere fabrication method, and grinding apparatus

A green ball grinding method comprising the steps of:

• supplying a green ball between a first surface of a first member and a second surface of a second member constituting a grinding apparatus, wherein said first surface faces said second surface;
• and
• grinding said green ball between said first surface and said second surface while said green ball rotates around said green ball's axis and in orbital motion, wherein
• said second surface has a first region and a second region, said first region being spaced apart from said first surface by a first distance, and said second region is a sloped region wherein a distance between the first member and the second member is greater than said first distance and increases along a direction extending away from said first region,
• said step of grinding said green ball comprises:
• a first step of green ball grinding of applying a first load between said green ball and each of said first surface and said second surface while said green ball is located between said first surface and said first region,
• a second step of modifying a rotation axis of said green ball by applying a second load lower than said first load while said green ball is located between said first surface and said second region, wherein said second load is substantially zero, and
• alternately repeating said first step and second step a plurality of times.