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Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

foodbeast.com

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Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#41

Post by tehwalrus »

leephillips wrote: post #33
tehwalrus wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it says it uses a Rankine Vortex[1] where a substantial amount of the velocity profile is zero - thus it doesn't "disturb carbonation". As others have pointed out, this is exactly what a lot of other "fast chill" tech already does. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankine_vortex

It says that, but the flow inside the can will be three-dimensional and not well modeled by the Rankine vortex. And no, the Rankine velocity profile is nowhere zero. This gadget exploits a common technique for enhancing heat transfer; another example are pipes designed to transport fluid while also causing it to come to thermal equilibrium with the environment as quickly as possible: these pipes sometimes feature rif…

apologies about the error - wiki article says the "remaining components" are zero, which means there's something that isn't, my bad.

Yes, that's what I read - two different domains with independent (or nearly independent?) flow, which means you could design it carefully to avoid a lot of shear in the centre - which is (on a skim reading) roughly what a Rankine vortex is.

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#42

Post by PhasmaFelis »

teddyh wrote: post #11
diadara wrote: post #4

Someone is going to make a lot of money.

…in 20 years, when the patent expires.

According to the video, it was funded by the EU in hopes of mass deployment to reduce energy waste in supermarkets (no need to keep an entire open drink case chilled if customers can cool their drinks on their way out the door), and they're planning to license it worldwide for a reasonable price.

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#43

Post by mikeash »

nealabq wrote: post #38

Instead, why not put CO2 dry-ice cubes in your drink? Or a spritz of liquid nitrogen? Or drop in a shot glass of liquid helium? Or super-cooled metal balls?

Dry ice will, ironically, make your soda go completely flat as it constantly agitates the drink as it boils/sublimes away.

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#44

Post by PhasmaFelis »

sparktherapy wrote: post #9

I can't watch videos where I work, so could someone briefly explain what this does? Is it anything to do with actual microwave radiation, or is it using accelerated conduction? EDIT: if only YouTube is blocked... there's a video available here: http://www.v-tex-technology.co.uk/ It mentions nothing about "microwave", and is just a deceptive title on that food blog's part.

It's not deceptive, it's figurative. Not everything has to be rigorously literal.

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#46

Post by jerf »

nealabq wrote: post #38

Instead, why not put CO2 dry-ice cubes in your drink? Or a spritz of liquid nitrogen? Or drop in a shot glass of liquid helium? Or super-cooled metal balls?

One of the other problems is that if you cool too quickly, you get an ice layer around the cooling, which then inhibits you from cooling any further. (Note I say "inhibits", not "prevents".)

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#47

Post by gojomo »

jostmey wrote: post #21
moogleii wrote: post #8

This has nothing to do with microwave technology at all. A sad face is warranted.

Reverse microwaves? The author of the post must be completely, 100% scientifically illiterate.

The headline writer is simply speaking figuratively, for maximum effect in constrained space. This is easily understood by a general audience, but sometimes misunderstood by the extra-literal/extra-critical mindset often seen in HN threads.

In the headline, 'Microwave' stands synecdochally for 'microwave oven' and then also for the more-general category 'fast-heating appliance'.

When there are multiple ways to interpret something, assume the interpretation that credits the writer/speaker with some sense, not an interpretation that is most-literal or most-amenable as the setup for an insult.

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#48

Post by fragsworth »

petercooper wrote: post #39
coderzach wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think she meant reverse microwave oven. As in, rather than heating fast, it cools fast.

Yeah, I think it's just a pragmatic layman's term for a good headline. I've complained over the years to my wife I'd like a "reverse microwave" for exactly this use, so it certainly clicked with me.

But anyone who usually understands "microwave" as electromagnetic energy will find this title extremely confusing.

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#49

Post by mbreese »

jostmey wrote: post #21
moogleii wrote: post #8

This has nothing to do with microwave technology at all. A sad face is warranted.

Reverse microwaves? The author of the post must be completely, 100% scientifically illiterate.

I must admit... Before I read the article, I spend a moment trying to figure out how they got microwaves out of the the spin energy of water molecules. Thankfully, that doesn't happen.

Re: Reverse Microwave Chills Beer In 45 Seconds

#50

Post by staunch »

lightblade wrote: post #34
staunch wrote: post #16

It's cool, but I doubt it will compete on price:performance with a bucket of ice.

I have some doubt on that, but I can't give you any numbers. With price, you have to consider the energy cost of freezing the ice. With performance, this thing is less like a microwave and more like a convection oven. A bucket of ice chills the content from outside to the center. This machine creates a spinning vortex inside the beverage container, bringing the warmer center to the outside to be chilled by the surfac…

Sounds like the same general concept as an ice cream maker. Spinning the liquid in a closed container is the fancy part I guess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Electric_ice_cream_maker.j...

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