The ball valve gets its name in the internal construction in the valve itself from aoaltwar's blog

A gate valve utilizes an inside gate that moves down and up on the stem. The stem is coupled to the handle which screws the gate up or down, buying and selling the gate valve. The gate valve features a few disadvantages. The biggest concern is that over the course of time, the stem which controls the gate may, in most cases will break. This means the gate is stuck in position, along with the water will either be stuck on or stuck off. Another issue that gate valves are notorious for seizing shut following a long period of non-use.

If they can be freed up, they may usually will leak. One thing you need to keep in mind though, there are a few areas that basically still need the use of gate valves before the water meter. The reason being that a ball valve has the capacity to be disconnect very fast with just 1 / 4 turn, whereas a gate valve will not be. In the VERY unlikely event that all the river is running within a house, plus the ball valve is turned off quickly, it'll cause a water hammer condition, and MAY create a problem elsewhere. This is extremely unlikely and may not be a consideration unless essential to your local authority.

Ball Valve
The ball valve gets its name in the internal construction in the valve itself. The lever is mounted on a stainless-steel ball for the inside from the valve. The ball carries a hole drilled through it and once the valve is on, water passes from the hole portion, once the lever is turned 90 degrees, the ball turns on the solid side and yes it closes over flow of water.

Ball valves are certainly not well suited for regulating flow. This is because ball valves utilize a relatively soft ring-shaped valve seat to make a tight seal. When they are partially open, pressure is applied to merely a portion with the valve seat. This can increase the risk for valve seat to warp reducing its ability to give a good seal causing it to leak.

Another reason ball valves are certainly not a good choice for regulating flow is they create turbulence and possible cavitation when used using this method. Turbulence and cavitation reduce flow rates, increase noise and vibration which enable it to even damage valves and piping.

Gate Valve
A gate valve gets its name on the internal construction at the same time because the gate raises and lowers to spread out or close the flow of water check this link. The handle sits using a threaded stem that screws inside and outside as the gate raises and lowers. At the end in the gate is usually a washer that is utilized to seal over flow of water if your gate is fully within the closed position.