Imagine a tall giant standing at 20m tall weights 40 metric tonnes, they have been watching us playing table tennis and were hoping that one day they could play too. How do I design a giant ping pong ball for these giants? What material would the ball be made of?
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$\begingroup$ A ping pong is called table tennis. And the ping-pong ball is not the same material as tennis ball. So any ball that is scalled to fit 20 metres giants. Yoga ball? $\endgroup$– SZCZERZO KŁYCommented Jul 23, 2020 at 12:30
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2$\begingroup$ Said giants are already violating physics by existing if they have human proportions, so I wouldn't be too concerned about it from a narrative perspective. $\endgroup$– HalfthawedCommented Jul 23, 2020 at 13:15
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1$\begingroup$ I imagine they would play it with a basketball and a giant table. $\endgroup$– SurpriseDogCommented Jul 23, 2020 at 13:42
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1$\begingroup$ If they've been watching tiny people play table tennis, then their visual acuity is sufficient to use tiny people pingpong balls & tables. $\endgroup$– elemtilasCommented Jul 23, 2020 at 15:35
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2$\begingroup$ @elemtilas - but not their fine muscle control. I can watch table tennis on my phone but I couldn't play at that scale. $\endgroup$– chasly - supports MonicaCommented Jul 24, 2020 at 18:59
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1 Answer
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I'd use the same synthetic rubber, fabric, and wire combination used in vehicle tires. It needs to bear its own weight without breaking on impact, have the necessary elasticity to create a satisfactory bounce, and enough mass to overcome wind resistance at the larger size so you can achieve a solid forward trajectory after each hit. Something too bouncy (like dodgeballs) would be utter chaos.
Equally large (ha ha) problems would include the size and composition of the table and paddles...
