Chemists Make A Coating That Can Slow A Golf Ball’s Roll
12:04 minutes
With spring here, the days are getting warmer and longer, meaning conditions are perfect for a trip to the golf course. And while golf is certainly a game of physics—force, angles, parabolas—this week researchers presented work showing that chemistry could play an important role on the golf course as well. Speaking at the meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego, researchers described a high performance coating that could be incorporated into the polyurethane shell of a golf ball.
The hydrophilic (water-loving) coating would make tiny bits of water stick to the surface of the golf ball and sheet off, modifying the way the ball interacts with the grass of the green. That interaction, says Tom Kennedy, owner of Chemical Innovative Solutions Inc., would lead to the ball rolling more slowly and reliably, especially on “fast,” closely-cut greens in dry and windy conditions.
Kennedy joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss the technology, and how hydrophilic coatings could find a home in other applications, including solar cells.
Further Reading
- Read about what’s inside golf balls and how chemistry can make them fly farther, via C&EN.
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Segment Guests
Tom Kennedy
Tom Kennedy is the owner of Chemical Innovative Solutions in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
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As Science Friday’s director and senior producer, Charles Bergquist channels the chaos of a live production studio into something sounding like a radio program. Favorite topics include planetary sciences, chemistry, materials, and shiny things with blinking lights.
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Ira Flatow is the founder and host of Science Friday. His green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.