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Why aren't there mugs with hydrophobic coating on the bottom? It seems like this should be an easy problem to solve compared to all the petaflop GPU's and space
by dheera 3y ago
Why aren't there mugs with hydrophobic coating on the bottom? It seems like this should be an easy problem to solve compared to all the petaflop GPU's and spacecraft we're building.
- simcop2387 3y agoThey tend to get destroyed when cleaning the items. It happens a lot with clothing that has hydrophobic coatings so I'd imagine a dishwasher would ruin it almost immediately, leading to complaints and returns.
- jhardy54 3y agoHow would a hydrophobic coating help?
- danbruc 3y agoI can imagine two ways. First, on the very bottom, if you place the mug into a puddle of coffee, then no coffee will wet the bottom of the mug. Second, around the side, when coffee runs down the side of the mug, a hydrophobic coating might stop a drop in its path if it is not too heavy. Not sure if the second thing would actually work.
- DannyB2 3y agoBecause that is a hardware fix. Why fix in hardware what can be fixed in software? A simple Latex package could add hydrophobic coating feature to the document file. Next: the device driver team will be tasked with a software patch to correct for the burned out light bulb on the device.
- amlib 3y agoOh great, one more ink cartridge for printer manufactures to sell. And, of course, the printer will refuse to work if your hydrophobic coating cartridges is empty even tough all other cartridges are fine.
- zeekaran 3y agoNormally, mugs are ceramic and thus the parts that had to touch the shelf in the kiln are unglazed. Maybe we just need to make pottery in 0G.
- nolongerthere 3y agoCould you just suspend them on a cushion of air like indoor skydiving?
- samatman 3y agoObtaining the necessary laminar flow in the presence of the handle might be challenging.
- sho_hn 3y agoOne of the primary motivations behind LK99 and other efforts to create room-temp superconductors is to fashion coffee mugs that harness the Meissner effect to levitate above journal print-outs.
- bruce343434 3y agoHow do you "just" suspend a mug on a cushion of air?
- olddustytrail 3y agoMaybe like indoor skydiving?
- StableAlkyne 3y agoHuh, TIL The bare ceramic on the bottom of the mug is of those things I've always noticed about coffee cups but never really thought about.
- pbhjpbhj 3y agoNot all tableware is barefooted / dry-footed. You can use a stilt, which is a ceramic with sharp metal (eg Kanthal) pins on which the glazed ceramic is supported. Pieces fired this way have small marks on the bottom like the injection marks some moulded plastic has. Fully glazed ware is good for wet areas when the ceramic may not be entirely vitrified, as this prevents water from soaking into the ceramic body. Dry-footed ware that hasn't been high-fired will soak up moisture, eg when washing, and so cause problems - crazing, and getting very hot when used in a microwave oven (which can cause more crazing, but also burn your hand! Source: am potter. The foot ring on dry-footed mugs is a useful knife sharpener in a pinch.
- eric__cartman 3y agoThat's a very low tech solution. What we need is an internet connected mug that senses with a camera if it's about to be set on top of a piece of paper and starts beeping uncontrollably. With a firmware update and an additional charge to the customer a model for detecting polished wooden furniture could also be used.
- sho_hn 3y agoIt also needs a permanent internet connection, as the inference for the paper detection is run in the cloud, and a subscription to keep it working. I call it No-SaaS, No Stains as a Service.
- bee_rider 3y agoThen how would we tell which papers have been read?
- nosrepa 3y agoAren't most hydrophobic coatings very toxic and wear easily?