# Basketball "ping". **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847 "2007-11-17T18:10:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/1 "2007-11-17T18:10:28Z")
I seem to be obsessed with sports today. 🙂 So, what makes that pleasant, high pitched ringing sound when a basketball is bounced or dribbled. I did some searching and learned all about what the ball is made of, and that NBA players got all huffy about the recent composite replacement (since reversed). the ball seems to massive to make that sound, but it must be due to the vibration as the ball rebounds. Is that so? Soccer balls don’t ring when bounced. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/2 "2007-11-17T18:40:28Z")
Really WAG. Possibly the sound of the little piece of the ball that contacts the floor vibrating and then echoing inside the ball. Maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/3 "2007-11-17T19:01:59Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] Really WAG. Possibly the sound of the little piece of the ball that contacts the floor vibrating and then echoing inside the ball. Maybe? [/QUOTE] That may be on target. A basketball has the bladder that holds the air, thread windings to maintain the ball’s shape, the “carcass” that reinforces the bladder and covers the windings, and then the cover that is the exterior of the ball that we see. I bet the windings are “ringing” like a guitar string or something. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/4 "2007-11-17T19:34:45Z")
That fits with the soccerball problem too I think, since it contacts a much bigger part of your shoe, which you would expect to create a deeper sound, like a “thunk” which it does. What if you dropped a soccerball on a basketball court? ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/5 "2007-11-17T19:50:45Z")
[QUOTE=TJdude825] That fits with the soccerball problem too I think, since it contacts a much bigger part of your shoe, which you would expect to create a deeper sound, like a “thunk” which it does. What if you dropped a soccerball on a basketball court? [/QUOTE] Hmm… Good point. Maybe the high end balls which are hand stitched do make the ping (and maybe it’s less noticeable flying around grassy turf than bouncing on a hardwood floor). Or maybe most people are used to handling lower end balls that are glued and don’t produce quite as crisp a sound. Or the Buckminster panels do something to mess up the ping. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/6 "2007-11-17T19:51:54Z")
Are soccer balls inflated to the same pressure as basketballs? My first WAG on this question was that it was the sound of the ball rebounding to its original shape, and I think that would be at least partly influenced by the air pressure inside the ball. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/7 "2007-11-17T19:55:08Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Are soccer balls inflated to the same pressure as basketballs? [/QUOTE] Don’ remember. I’m pretty sure they do have a few more layers of lining though. I just found a site that says soccer balls have four or more layers of lining (I had no idea), and some have a foam for better control. That would deaden the ping. ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/8 "2007-11-17T20:46:00Z")
Aren’t soccer balls sewn up from multiple pieces of leather? All the extra joints and seams would tend to deaden out any ‘ringing’ vibrations, since the vibration would not pass easily from one patch of leather to the next. A wineglass made up of a mosaic of glass and mortar will not ring like an intact glass will. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/9 "2007-11-18T00:35:26Z")
If it helps, I’ve noticed a high pitched noise from racquetballs when hit against walls/floors. They don’t have an air valve, but are pressurized, I think. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-ping/426847/10 "2007-11-18T00:51:47Z")
[QUOTE=chaoticbear] If it helps, I’ve noticed a high pitched noise from racquetballs when hit against walls/floors. They don’t have an air valve, but are pressurized, I think. [/QUOTE] I’ve never played raquetball, but I used to play a lot of single wall handball. Street stuff. Played with a small, black ball. No ping. Great fun. I just realized that I miss it. Why do we stop doing stuff that’s fun?