Why Do Ping Pong Balls Float In The Water? (Quick Answer)
Whether you are a table tennis player, beer pong player, or a person that hasn’t done both, you still probably have encountered a ping pong ball at some point in your life. There are many things that ping pong balls can do, and one of them is floating in the water. Why do they float?
In this article, I will teach you everything you need to know about ping pong balls’ characteristics that make them float on water, why they seem to float in the air and some other answers to why they seem to defy gravity when struck right. But first, why do table tennis balls float in water?
Ping pong balls float in the water because they are extremely lightweight, hollow, and filled with air. Also, the water’s surface tension makes it easy for the ping pong ball to float. In addition, water is denser than ping pong balls, making them seek the highest point of water.
Even when gravity pulls the ping pong ball towards its core, the water’s surface tension is more powerful when dealing with the ping pong ball; therefore, it will float. In fact, if you dip the ball in the water, it will not only come back to the surface, but it will shoot up quite fast.
In addition, if you place a ping pong ball in a cup filled with liquid, it can operate in two ways. First, if the cup isn’t full, the ping pong ball will always seek to be in the corners of the cup; however, if the cup is overflowing with liquid, the ball will always seek to be right in the middle of it.
This is because of surface tension. When the cup isn’t completely full, the water and cup will create a curve that forces the ball to move to the sides because that’s where the highest point of water is. On the other hand, if the cup is completely full, the water’s surface tension and cup will create a curve that forces the ball in the middle of the water because the highest point of water is now there.
Read also: Why Do Ping Pong Ball’s Bounce?

Contents [show]
How do you make a ping pong ball sink in water
If you want to make a ping pong ball sink in the water, the best way to make that happen is by making a hole in the water. This way, water will get inside the ball, and the water’s surface tension won’t be strong enough to hold it above the surface; therefore, it will sink.
How does a ping pong ball float above a hair dryer
A ping pong ball floats on the air when using a hairdryer because the air coming is moving faster than the air around it; therefore, it also has a lower air pressure. The ping pong ball will stop rising when gravity’s force pushing the ball down equals the air pushing the ball up.
Read also: Does Wind Affect Ping Pong? (9 Facts About Weather)
Are ping pong balls dense
The density of a ping pong ball is 0.0840 g/cm³, whereas water’s density is 997 kg/m³. Therefore, ping pong balls aren’t nearly as dense as water and will always float and surface extremely fast.
How the ping pong ball seems to defy gravity and float in the air
When you strike a ping pong ball with a strong backspin, it will create a phenomenon that makes the ball rise from its route even when traveling straight. Sometimes when the spin is strong enough, it can even go up and down a couple of times when finally the gravity is strong enough to pull the ball down.
Trending: Why Are Ping Pong Balls Orange?
Does a golf ball float in the water
Golf balls will not float in the water because they are too heavy to do so. Golf balls weigh around 46grams and are denser than water; therefore, water’s surface tension isn’t strong enough to keep the golf ball floating.
Does a tennis ball float in the water
In short, tennis balls float in the water because their density is less than water, and the surface tension is strong enough to float it. A tennis ball’s shell is made from rubber, and it is hollow and filled with air. Rubber and air are also less dense than water; therefore, the ball float.
Read also: Differences Between Tennis And Table Tennis
Ping pong ball experiment: Submerged in boiling water
When it comes to water and ping pong balls, a really common question is considering what happens to the ball when it is submerged in boiling water. Below you can see the results!

I used a regular orange ping pong ball to the experiment. The picture above is before boiling the ball.

As you can see, the ball did deform quite a bit, and it got somewhat soft as well; however, I could feel it harden really fast when taken out of the hot water. I submerged the ball into the boiling water and kept it there for 45seconds.
Personally, I was really surprised by the outcomes because I thought it would become far more deformed and soft than it actually did.
What is the Bernoulli’s Principle
Bernoulli’s principle is a statement that explains how the speed of a fluid relates to the pressure of the fluid. In shorter terms, Bernoulli’s principle can be explained in the following simplified equation:
static pressure + dynamic pressure = total pressure
Daniel Bernoulli
My Favorite Table Tennis Equipment
Thanks for reading this article. I hope it brought you great value that you can implement into your own life! Here you can find my preferred table tennis equipment that I believe you could benefit too!
- Racket: My favorite racket choice is the beautiful Killerspin Jet800 because it fits my offensive and speed-focused playstyle. The two carbon layers, 2.1mm sponge, and 190g weight makes this racket powerful.
- Ping Pong Balls: New technology and design have made the JOOLA Flash Seamless 3-Star Balls stand out from the other balls. These balls are seamless, meaning they are more durable than any ball with a seam! Even when these balls come at a higher price, they will pay themselves quickly. As a bonus, the design makes me excited!
- Table Tennis shoes: The famous Butterfly Lezoline Rifones is my choice as it is for many others because they are designed specifically for table tennis standards. I like the excellent support, comfortable cushioning, and lightweight sole with great traction, which gets you exploding fast to whatever direction you need to.
- Fan Equipment: If you’re a fan more than a player, you don’t want to miss Fan Equipment by Fanatics. You can find items from various sports that bear your favorite team’s logo, such as jerseys, gift ideas, or other surprising things.
Conclusion
Table tennis balls float because they are less dense than water. Table tennis balls are the lightest of all sports balls, which is shown when you push the ball into the water and release it. This makes the ball shoot up with quite a force.
I hope that this article was helpful to you, and you now understand better the principles on why something floats and some interesting things about ping pong balls.