svetz
Works in theory! Practice? That's something else
Way Cool... hadn't heard about this! Thank you for reporting it!
Ice forms anywhere from thermal loss... but I'm sure this must be occurring above freezing? Found a reference ... (actually a bunch)
I believe the ice, not so sure the real reason is it radiating to a clear night sky.
I bet what's happening is on cold clear nights the desert surface air becomes extremely dry. A shallow pond has a large surface area and low thermal mass. The dry air probably causes rapid evaporation (~1400 BTUs/lb evaporation) which is faster than ambient heat on a cold night can radiate into the pond... and that causes the water to freeze.
...in the desert of The Mid East the night thermal loss into outer space alows ice to form in shallow ponds designed for that purpose.
Ice forms anywhere from thermal loss... but I'm sure this must be occurring above freezing? Found a reference ... (actually a bunch)
A clear night sky has a very low temperature, and on clear nights surfaces facing the sky radiate heat into the sky. In this way the temperature of the water in the pool could drop below the temperature of the air, and on cold nights it would drop below 0°C, thus creating ice.
I believe the ice, not so sure the real reason is it radiating to a clear night sky.
I bet what's happening is on cold clear nights the desert surface air becomes extremely dry. A shallow pond has a large surface area and low thermal mass. The dry air probably causes rapid evaporation (~1400 BTUs/lb evaporation) which is faster than ambient heat on a cold night can radiate into the pond... and that causes the water to freeze.
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