Temperature regulating drinking straw
I had an idea:
What if you had a drinking straw that would ensure a perfect drinking temperature of any hot beverage?
Here's how I picture it working:
A straw is just a tube with two openings. You put your mouth at one opening and apply suction. The other end is submerged in a liquid that is under atmospheric pressure. The liquid is drawn into the straw and then into your mouth through a combination of the suction applied by your mouth and the atmospheric pressure on the surface of the liquid.
In my straw, there would be a second tube, longer than the first, that either coiled around the first tube or made shapes, as in a "Crazy Straw" (possibly TM). There would be a valve at the bottom of the first tube. If the liquid is too hot, the valve diverts the liquid into the second, longer tube, where it would be given time and space to cool.
Ideally, the tubes would intersect at least once more, possibly many times, each with a valve. Any time the temperature has reached a comfortable range, the next valve would allow the liquid into the short tube, offering the most direct access to the mouth.
I think the straw itself should be made of aluminum lined with some sort of plastic, glass, or other food safe material. The valves could be simple bi-metal flaps that move in response to heat, much like the bi-metal coil in most simple thermostats. There could possibly even be a final valve at the very top that would prevent any liquid leaving the tube if it hadn't cooled down enough, to prevent burns due to overconfidence.
Anybody reading this, do you think there would be any value in having a reusable straw that would make sure that hot beverages were the perfect temperature when they reached your mouth?
What if you had a drinking straw that would ensure a perfect drinking temperature of any hot beverage?
Here's how I picture it working:
A straw is just a tube with two openings. You put your mouth at one opening and apply suction. The other end is submerged in a liquid that is under atmospheric pressure. The liquid is drawn into the straw and then into your mouth through a combination of the suction applied by your mouth and the atmospheric pressure on the surface of the liquid.
In my straw, there would be a second tube, longer than the first, that either coiled around the first tube or made shapes, as in a "Crazy Straw" (possibly TM). There would be a valve at the bottom of the first tube. If the liquid is too hot, the valve diverts the liquid into the second, longer tube, where it would be given time and space to cool.
Ideally, the tubes would intersect at least once more, possibly many times, each with a valve. Any time the temperature has reached a comfortable range, the next valve would allow the liquid into the short tube, offering the most direct access to the mouth.
I think the straw itself should be made of aluminum lined with some sort of plastic, glass, or other food safe material. The valves could be simple bi-metal flaps that move in response to heat, much like the bi-metal coil in most simple thermostats. There could possibly even be a final valve at the very top that would prevent any liquid leaving the tube if it hadn't cooled down enough, to prevent burns due to overconfidence.
Anybody reading this, do you think there would be any value in having a reusable straw that would make sure that hot beverages were the perfect temperature when they reached your mouth?