Corkscrew Cups Could Keep Space Drinks Flowing

holy_calamity writes "A Canadian chemical engineer has a novel solution to containing liquids in space. He has been experimenting with corkscrews of ribbon-like material that keep liquids suspended in their center while in microgravity. This effect is caused by the surface tension of the liquids. The helical containers allow the fluid to be sucked out of the coil in one go. In more conventional shapes, such as coffee cups, interaction between the container and the liquid's internal pressure makes the beverage break into annoying globules you have to chase with a straw."

I'm interested in how they simulated microgravity

They tested the candidates in a tank that simulates microgravity using two different liquids of equal density.

I wonder if the surface tension of those two liquids affects the experiment at all? Thats interesting.

Re:I'm interested in how they simulated microgravi

Surface tension arises from cohesion and not adhesion. The two types of liquids were probably chosen such that the cohesive forces in the experiment were similar to that for water in air. Adhesive forces may exist between the liquids, but should not affect the experiment. Cohesive forces can be calculated by measuring the angle of the meniscus (if the adhesive forces between the liquid and its container are known).

Re:I'm interested in how they simulated microgravi

As if we didn't have enough trouble with drunken diapered astronauts, now NASA's come up with a way to have martinis in space! They should have stuck with Jello Shots in a Tube, TangDrivers, and secretly fermenting raisins from their Space Lunches. Not to mention huffing escaping gas from the air conditioning system. Yes, these plain-vanilla pilots and scientists have a wild side. The dewy-eyed novices on all-male flights awarded their first "Member of 50-Mile High Club" patch. The ones with a secret tattoo of Richard Simmons on their lower back saying "Your Space Buddy!" The "NASA Says Save Water in Space, Shower With Your Co-Pilot" ecology program. Oh, the horror. Cover your eyes, children.

Globule wars.

"In more conventional shapes, such as coffee cups, interaction between the container and the liquid's internal pressure makes the beverage break into annoying globules you have to chase with a straw."

Yes, but that's half the fun right there of going into space. The other is passing space gas.

Would you need a screw shaped cork for wine?

And also begs the question, what shape would the corkscrew opener be for that? the shape of a bottle perhaps?

whooa

Stop it you're totally freaking me out man

Re:

This is so useful to me in my daily life. From now on I am going to insist on helical containers for all my micro-gravity beverage needs.

Re:Would you need a screw shaped cork for wine?

"You're assuming your conclusion" isn't that many more letters than "You're begging the question." and uses each word as it's currently understood.

Re:Would you need a screw shaped cork for wine?

The singular usage of "they" is attested all the way back to Shakespearean times (in fact, to Shakespeare himself) and has no negative consequences to the language as a whole. The issue here is not that some of us accept that language changes and others don't. The issue here is that some of us prefer to see language be used as eloquently and articulately as possible. Using "raises the question" instead of "begs the question" when one isn't referring to the logical fallacy maintains precision and avoids ambiguity. Similarly, using "they" to refer to a singular person of indeterminate gender is far more elegant than awkward constructions such as "s/he", "he/she", "(s)he", and so forth, while avoiding the ambiguity and gender bias of using "he".

Re:Would you need a screw shaped cork for wine?

That depends on your outlook, now doesn't it ?

Who owns english ? Who has the power to authoratively say what is correct english and what is not ?

In Germany it's simple, most people don't question authority, so everyone accepts that whatever Duden chooses to put in its dictionaries is correct, everything else is wrong. Yes, even if 99% of the population, including linguistically trained people, do it differently.

You get strange things like; "Everyone says gukken, but it's really kukken that is correct" (for look, glance). If you try asking a Germany -WHY- gukken is wrong if that is what everyone says, you get a bland stare, they don't really even get the question.

English, and most languages really, are somewhat more open: The *natives* define the language. Those putting out dictionaries merely *document* the language. Yes, there are "common misperceptions", i.e. things that many people do but which are nevertheless wrong and should probably remain so. Those are the things that break the -structure- of the language.

But stuff like meaning of phrases and/or pronounciation changes meaning over time trough actual use. Also, the same phrase has different (often related, but different) meaning in different fields. A photographer and a filesystem-designer do NOT mean the same thing when both talk about "taking a snapshot".

Begging the question means one thing in formal logic. In practice, it has other common meanings in everyday english. Deal with it.

Star bucks

Coffee in space?

Re:Star bucks

In space, no one can hear you sip.

Prior art.

I believe it's called a Silly Straw. I have one sitting right next to my Tang.

Capri Sun

Wouldn't a Capri Sun work just fine? Just a packet of liquid with no rigid structure which contracts to always contain the liquid...

Reminds me of that old (and false) joke about Americans spending a million dollars to invent a pen that can write in space, while the Russians used a pencil.

Re:

Did the russians have fun brushing the shavings and graphite dust out of the relays?

Re:Capri Sun

Hmmm... I don't think you get it. These Capri Sun juices [google.com] come in containers that collapse as you suck the juice out of them. So, as long as no air enters through the interface between the straw and the package (easy to implement) or through the straw itself (probably harder), the situation you mention would not happen.

Let me get this straight

If you keep the liquid in a tube smaller than the globule it will break into, it won't break into a globule? Next thing, they'll be supplying these "astronauts" with "air" Brilliant!

Re:

No, no. It's even more simple than that. All you have to do is put the liquid in the straw before takeoff, then you don't have to chase the globule down with a straw!

In other words ...

So the solution is to package the liquid in a long, flexible straw, and then coil the straw up into the shape of a cup.

Clever, clever!

(Of course, we have had a number of cases where we did extensive research, and when someone finally found a simple solution to a problem, everyone who saw it said "That's obvious." This happened with things like the zipper, barbed wire, and the paper clip, all of which took decades of experimenting before someone stumbled across the simple way to do it. Simple solutions to problems are often much more difficult to see than complex solution.)

Now all I need is

two girls, a camera, soothing music, and a space ship.

Re:

It means your "Strategically Engineering Anti-Gravity Humanoid Powered Suction Devices(TM)" are worth something, yes.

Re:Even better.

Why not just suck water out of a sponge? This is twice as good as a silly straw (aka "corckscrew cup") because you could use it to clean up spills as well as prevent them.

Bacteria love sponges. All that surface area means they'll hold water for a long time, and it's impossible to clean them properly.

Re:Even better.

Two minutes of microwaving on full power mode killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of all the living pathogens in the sponges and pads...

Microwave oven can sterilize sponges, scrub pads [ufl.edu]

Re:

Duh, the replicator serves drinks in these things. Sheesh - do I have to explain even the most BASIC space technology to you guys?

Re:I KNEW IT!

Personally, I'm waiting for them to start cutting the corners off of our paper.

(The urban legend goes that the production company behind BSG liked the series, but thought that it was too expensive for what it was, and instructed the director to "cut some corners." Not being too happy with this, the director subsequently told his props manager to cut the corners off of every square and rectangular object he could find in his inventory. Oddly enough, this added to the "futuristic" appearance of the props)