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Artificial Clouds To Cool Qatar World Cup Stadiums

Posted by samzenpus on from the synthetic-rain dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In anticipation of extreme heat during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scientists and engineers at Qatar University have developed a solar-powered gas-filled cloud that will shade spectators and athletes from the intense sun. The $500,000 artificial clouds can be positioned over any of the stadiums in Qatar and can be maneuvered with a remote control from the ground to keep the passing sun off the field."

4 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. The New Golden Age by NotAGoodNickname · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is nice that the world is so wealthy we can spend billions of dollars of extra money watching grown men kicking balls into nets. We truly have entered the Golden Age.

  2. It's a blimp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    USA has had blimps flying over their stadiums for years.

  3. did they ever hear of the roof? by Punto · · Score: 3, Insightful

    did China start a new trend of coming up with complicated schemes to avoid building roofs on buildings?

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    Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!

    1. Re:did they ever hear of the roof? by DaveGod · · Score: 5, Insightful

      $500k is probably a lot cheaper than adding a retractable roof, especially when it may be saleable after, or shared during the event.

      Roofs also impact on the sport. For example in some sports (e.g. rugby) it may be desirable to retain the variable introduced by wind (I daresay most fans do not like a kicking game). Then there's the atmosphere: obviously a roof has a considerable effect on the acoustics. Not to forget grass needs sunlight, tens of thousands of supporters in an enclosed space are going to generate some heat of their own... I think it's fair to say roofs are considered to be a significant compromise in favour of the reliability from reducing weather effects.

      I could well be totally wrong on this but I was under the impression certain sports - or rather certain sporting events - require an open roof, or allow retractable roofs to be closed only under certain conditions and when approved by an official of the governing body.