White balls in my plant pot!

shadau

Well-Known Member
Hey, i was admiring my plants beauty today and noticed like a white ball in my plant pot so i picked it out and crushed it and it tuned to like a powder! any ideas of what this could be? i looked around my small grow room and there is NOTHING that could have possibly got there!bongsmilie:bigjoint::bigjoint:
 

olosto

New Member
Perlite

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For the two-phased structure in steel, see pearlite.

Expanded Perlite


Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian. It occurs naturally and has the unusual property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently. It is an industrial mineral and a commercial product useful for its light weight after processing.
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When it reaches temperatures of 850–900 °C, perlite softens (since it is a glass). Water trapped in the structure of the material vapourises and escapes and this causes the expansion of the material to 7–16 times its original volume. The expanded material is a brilliant white, due to the reflectivity of the trapped bubbles.
Unexpanded ("raw") perlite bulk density: around 1100 kg/m³ (1.1 g/cm³).
Typical expanded perlite bulk density: 30–150 kg/m³


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In horticulture perlite can be used as a soil amendment or alone as a medium for hydroponics or for starting cuttings.
 
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