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21 Comments
JustSayingGlobal warming is a hoax!
LOL!
AeroMechanicalsays...I assume this has all been thought out and tested, but I'm imagining these balls with a thin coating of water adhering to their surfaces, which quickly evaporates as the black balls heat in the sunlight and then turning over to replenish their coating and repeating the process forever possibly making things worse.
Fairbssays...I saw this on the news last night and kept thinking about plastic particles from the balls themselves leeching into the water over time.
I assume this has all been thought out and tested, but I'm imagining these balls with a thin coating of water adhering to their surfaces, which quickly evaporates as the black balls heat in the sunlight and then turning over to replenish their coating and repeating the process forever possibly making things worse.
bremnetsays...Plastic particles? Leeching? You've obviously drank the Kool Aid. Over time if the polymer (in this case polyethylene) degrades and becomes reduced in physical size, sure you get little pieces of plastic. Plastic particles don't leech from molded plastic parts, like these balls, as they are formed while the polymer is in a homogeneous continuous melt.
I saw this on the news last night and kept thinking about plastic particles from the balls themselves leeching into the water over time.
bremnetsays...If these are polyethylene or polypropylene, they are both highly hydrophobic in their pure form and water will not wet the surface of these materials. Given their color these are obviously not from pure polyolefin streams, so could perhaps be more hydrophilic, but it's very hard to get a PE or PP substrate to totally wet out even with high loadings of traditional fillers and reinforcements. Some folks have asked why they are black... which is indeed odd and perhaps not conducive to minimizing evaporation... and I can only imagine that the source of the polymer used to make these could be a scrap stream as they would be wanting to keep costs low, and in comingled streams the ultimate color is often dark - black, deep blue, browns etc. - when the stream is extruded and pelletized. If money was no object and they had to go with balls, then black would likely be the last choice, not the first (white - well loaded with inexpensive TiO2, or in some future universe... reflective silver!) Have fun.
I assume this has all been thought out and tested, but I'm imagining these balls with a thin coating of water adhering to their surfaces, which quickly evaporates as the black balls heat in the sunlight and then turning over to replenish their coating and repeating the process forever possibly making things worse.
CrushBug"Reservoir No. 2 - Shade Balls"
Sounds like a porn movie.
HenningKONeat!
How can that guy resist jumping on and sliding down the ramp on a cushion of plastic balls?!
gharkyou do realise that things (plasticisers, dyes etc) other than the main polymer are added to plastics to improve their properties right.
Plastic particles? Leeching? You've obviously drank the Kool Aid. Over time if the polymer (in this case polyethylene) degrades and becomes reduced in physical size, sure you get little pieces of plastic. Plastic particles don't leech from molded plastic parts, like these balls, as they are formed while the polymer is in a homogeneous continuous melt.
notarobotBalls deep.
sanderbosjokingly says...For some reason I was thinking about what would happen if this truck got into an accident on some freeway.
oritteropoWhat they said was that only black would survive the UV radiation, and they expect these ones to last about 10 years.
I would've liked more of an explanation than that myself, but haven't gone looking for one.
[...]Some folks have asked why they are black... which is indeed odd and perhaps not conducive to minimizing evaporation... and I can only imagine that the source of the polymer used to make these could be a scrap stream as they would be wanting to keep costs low, and in comingled streams the ultimate color is often dark - black, deep blue, browns etc. - when the stream is extruded and pelletized. If money was no object and they had to go with balls, then black would likely be the last choice, not the first (white - well loaded with inexpensive TiO2, or in some future universe... reflective silver!) Have fun.
rdavis184It would be good to see some empirical studies confirming that covering the surface of a body of water with black colored balls slows evaporation.
LA Water Manager: So, covering the surface of our reservoirs with black plastic balls will slow evaporation?
Ball Company: Yes.
LA Water Manager: Good! We'll take 100 million please.
Ball Company: Thanks!
Fairbssays...I admit this is something I know little about so I have a couple of questions if you don't mind... There seems to be a concern about what reusable water bottles are made of. So you're supposed to use a certain type or the plastic (and this may be the wrong term) leeches into your water and then I don't know exactly what, but you probably die some horrible death maybe like in the toxic avenger. So one question is... Is that true (or maybe a less exaggerated version)? The second one I think you may have answered is... Are these injection molded? I can't comprehend how these would be made. I think I need a How it's Made to wrap my mind around this. Thanks.
Plastic particles? Leeching? You've obviously drank the Kool Aid. Over time if the polymer (in this case polyethylene) degrades and becomes reduced in physical size, sure you get little pieces of plastic. Plastic particles don't leech from molded plastic parts, like these balls, as they are formed while the polymer is in a homogeneous continuous melt.
worthwordsGiant caviar all-round!
bcglorfjokingly says...DENIER!
The current drought in a desert clearly proves global warming is happening now, is man made, and will have catastrophic results.
Global warming is a hoax!
LOL!
dannym3141I have another suggestion. Maybe if they were a lighter colour, people would be put off by all the very evident bird shit, moss and filth that will accumulate on them.
If these are polyethylene or polypropylene, they are both highly hydrophobic in their pure form and water will not wet the surface of these materials. Given their color these are obviously not from pure polyolefin streams, so could perhaps be more hydrophilic, but it's very hard to get a PE or PP substrate to totally wet out even with high loadings of traditional fillers and reinforcements. Some folks have asked why they are black... which is indeed odd and perhaps not conducive to minimizing evaporation... and I can only imagine that the source of the polymer used to make these could be a scrap stream as they would be wanting to keep costs low, and in comingled streams the ultimate color is often dark - black, deep blue, browns etc. - when the stream is extruded and pelletized. If money was no object and they had to go with balls, then black would likely be the last choice, not the first (white - well loaded with inexpensive TiO2, or in some future universe... reflective silver!) Have fun.
mxxconReplace d with v and you got a winner.
"Reservoir No. 2 - Shade Balls"
Sounds like a porn movie.
nanrodThis idea has been around for a long time. Many years ago (many, many) I read about a proposal to cover all the resevoirs of the southwest with ping pong balls.
MordhausI have a very novel idea. Move people out of the fucking desert so we can quit wasting water in a place that is not supposed to be supporting life.
Paybackhttp://space.io9.com/why-are-drought-balls-black-instead-of-white-1724040253
siftbotWhy Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir? has been added as a related post - related requested by newtboy on that post.
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