Sound Increases the Efficiency of Boiling

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Sound Increases the Efficiency of Boiling

Posted by timothy on Friday May 25, 2012 @03:48PM from the centerfold-for-the-journal-of-boiling-research dept.

hessian writes "Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology achieved a 17-percent increase in boiling efficiency by using an acoustic field to enhance heat transfer. The acoustic field does this by efficiently removing vapor bubbles from the heated surface and suppressing the formation of an insulating vapor film."

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USA should have some experience from Asia by CAKAS · 2012-05-25 15:49 · Score: -1, Offtopic

Just last night we had a nice dinner with my friend. Boiled some bacons, sausages, chicken and bull's balls at the local restaurant. They bring the boiling plate to your table. It is a nice and social thing and you can have a chat while your food is boiling (and take a few beers).
1. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Brett+Buck · 2012-05-25 15:58 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Anyone who BOILS BACON (nature's perfect food) really shouldn't be providing any culinary advice.
2. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 15:58 · Score: 0
  
  ...and the fortune cookie read: "That wasn't chicken."
3. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 16:03 · Score: 0
  
  Was this your chef?
4. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 16:06 · Score: -1
  
  Lol, they have those places all over any city with Asians in the USA. Good job being an ignorant noob. I used to pick up chinese girls at these places and fuck the shit outta them.
5. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by kaizokuace · 2012-05-25 16:09 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  anyone who isn't open to cooking food in more than one method really shouldn't be providing any advice.
  
  --
  Balderdash!
6. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Kreigaffe · 2012-05-25 16:12 · Score: -1
  
  Herpaderp, because Americans never go out with their friends. Ever. The concept is entirely foreign to us. ONLY ASIANS DO THIS! I know this is true, because some pretentious dbag posted it on slashdot!
  
  --
  ... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
7. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by VortexCortex · 2012-05-25 16:19 · Score: -1, Flamebait
  
  anyone who isn't open to cooking food in more than one method really shouldn't be providing any advice.
  I suppose you'd love to eat some marshmallows roasted with my lit farts? No? Hypocrite There ARE wrong ways to cook things, fool.
8. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by kaizokuace · 2012-05-25 16:27 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  wow.
  
  --
  Balderdash!
9. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by CAKAS · 2012-05-25 16:40 · Score: 1
  
  Anyone who BOILS BACON (nature's perfect food) really shouldn't be providing any culinary advice.
  I know you do usually fry it. But there was nothing wrong when boiling it too. Now, I am not sure if it was prepared in such a way that it can be boiled, but it was great anyway.
  
  The sausages and hot chili sauce more so.
10. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Nerdfest · 2012-05-25 16:41 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I find your ideas interesting and would like to subscribe to your newsletter, but I am *never* eating marshmallows at your place.
11. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Cylix · 2012-05-25 16:50 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I'm sure someone would enjoy it.
  
  --
  "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
12. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by philip.paradis · 2012-05-25 16:58 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Rule 34. Just think about that. Now try not to have nightmares.
  
  --
  Write failed: Broken pipe
13. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 17:20 · Score: 0
  
  Are you a hot girl?
14. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by reilwin · 2012-05-25 17:25 · Score: 1
  
  Boil bacon? Such an atrocity! Everybody knows that bacon is best eaten raw.
15. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Gordonjcp · 2012-05-25 17:30 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Grandparent poster appears to be American. They don't have anything that people from the rest of the world would even recognise as food. Americans can only detect two tastes - high fructose corn syrup, and hot sauce.
  American bacon is bad enough even before they slice it to molecular thickness and fry it in cheap crappy oil until it's quite thoroughly burnt.
16. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by retchdog · 2012-05-25 17:38 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  it always amuses me when foreigners judge america by our lowest common denominator crap. you know, the stuff that's only available here due to our sprawling machine of industry which europeans apparently have a fetish for, since they can't seem to get over it when sublimating their envy through these pathetic insults.
  for anything whatsoever that you attach cultural importance to, america can do it better; you'll just never find it at the shitty supermarket or wal*mart, which any native, who isn't penniless or functionally retarded, knows to avoid.
  except cheese. i don't know what's up with that, but i'm sure that if we wanted to, we could.
  
  --
  "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
17. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 17:40 · Score: -1
  
  sound increases the efficiency of boiling. niggers decrease the efficiency of society.
  
  basically the darker your skin the less you invent and contribute and the more you drain social services. coons are a net drain on society. they take more than they give.
18. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by larkost · 2012-05-25 18:02 · Score: 1
  
  For cheese you just need to go to Wisconsin. Cheeses there regularly win international awards, and the cheese isles in the grocery stores are enormous (easily tripple the space that I see in my grocery store in California). As a transplanted Wisconsinite that is one of the things I miss most (followed closely by seasons).
19. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by PremiumCarrion · 2012-05-25 18:21 · Score: 1
  
  The idea of boiling liquids on customer tables whilst drinking beer seems like an idea that won't catch on.
20. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by tombeard · 2012-05-25 18:42 · Score: 1
  
  Whatever. I buy mine 10 slices per lb., SC.US No rind.
  
  --
  The reason we subjugate ourselves to law is to better procure justice. If law does not accomplish this purpose then it m
21. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by retchdog · 2012-05-25 19:02 · Score: 1
  
  aye, and i regret not being more adventurous while i was there... however, i have a fondness for french blue cheeses (e.g. raw milk bleu d'auvergne, and saint agur); are there domestic blue cheeses besides maytag? my understanding is that we don't. please prove me wrong.
  
  --
  "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
22. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Culture20 · 2012-05-25 19:12 · Score: 2
  
  American bacon is bad enough even before they slice it to molecular thickness and fry it in cheap crappy oil until it's quite thoroughly burnt.
  I agree regarding the thickness (bacon tastes better with at least double the "normal" US thickness), but no one in America fries bacon in oil, crappy or otherwise. That's the fat from the bacon itself, and its spattering browning goodness is what creates the deliciousness.
23. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by jcr · 2012-05-25 20:18 · Score: 1
  
  If you don't boil bacon, how can you make bacon soup?
  -jcr
  
  --
  The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
24. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by jcr · 2012-05-25 20:20 · Score: 1
  
  they slice it to molecular thickness and fry it in cheap crappy oil
  Shows how much you know. Bacon doesn't need oil, it's got its own fat.
  -jcr
  
  --
  The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
25. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by formfeed · 2012-05-25 20:41 · Score: 2
  
  Your portrayal of the US is extremely one sided. There is much more to American cuisine than corn syrup and hot sauce. What about fat and rendered beef protein?
  You could bake same corn syrup and hot sauce and top it with fat and rendered beef protein and have some delicious pizza. Or you cut mix some rendered beef protein with hot sauce, batter it in a corn/ corn syrup mix and deep fry it in fat. The options are endless.
26. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by ericloewe · 2012-05-25 20:56 · Score: 1
  
  Actually you have 4! options of combining the stuff, assuming the end result is mostly similar regardless of method. I would add absurd amounts of salt to the list, but since everything has those absurd amounts, you'd still have 24 options for making food.
27. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by wrook · 2012-05-25 21:51 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, there is an amazing dish in Okinawa called rafute which is essentially braised pork belly. It's not technically bacon as it isn't smoked, but I reckon it's close enough. You should open your eyes to the wonders of nature's perfect food!
28. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by englishknnigits · 2012-05-25 22:17 · Score: 1
  
  No, I can also detect chocolate and bacon. Now that we have that cleared up, we have something called choices and options. We have thin bacon and thick cut bacon. You can go to a grocery store and buy the kind that you want to eat then cook it how you like it. I've never heard of someone cooking bacon in oil. There is also a difference between thoroughly burnt (aka black) and crispy (on the verge of burning).
29. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 23:31 · Score: 0
  
  except cheese
  And cured ham (and probably most of incredible the cured/cold meats and sausages you can find everywhere in southern Europe). Specially "Jabugo pata negra" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam%C3%B3n_ib%C3%A9rico), the one made from black legged pigs that eat mostly acorns (which they graze by themeselves, meaning they are well exercised and have just the right amount of muscular tissue with little veins of fat). If you ever have the chance to taste it... don't, unless you're willing to move to spain or somewhere to where it's regularly exported. Once you've tasted it, you'll want more, and I think it's starting to be exported to the USA, but at insane prices, low quantities, and possibly not the best quality.
  Try to find this sandwich in the USA, for instance (much less in a fast food restaurant for ~7 dollars): http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/travel/15Bites.html
30. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by AngryDeuce · 2012-05-25 23:45 · Score: 1
  
  American bacon is bad enough even before they slice it to molecular thickness and fry it in cheap crappy oil until it's quite thoroughly burnt.
  This will probably blow your mind, but there are actually different places where one can purchase bacon here in the U.S., across varying levels of thickness. My grandmother used to get hers from a local butcher in Philly that cut it twice as thick as the average Oscar Mayer crap you'll find in a chain grocery store. Also, I prefer my bacon chewy, although I admit I am in the minority.
  Don't know if you guys only get once choice over there in Europe or what, but there are vast differences in local cuisine across the United States. For instance, I would almost kill a man for an authentic, New York style pizza, but alas, I am stuck in the upper-Midwest where everyone prefers the goddamned Chicago style that requires a knife and a fork to eat. Also, I haven't had a proper cheese-steak since I left Philadelphia 20 years ago, although many, many places sure advertise their own piss-poor version of "Philly Cheese-Steaks".
  They should really trademark that, like France did with Champagne, so that those of us that have actually had an authentic Philly cheese-steak (on Amoroso rolls, of course) no longer have to be insulted by places passing off their own steak-um bullshit as a cheese-steak.
31. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by CubicleView · 2012-05-25 23:56 · Score: 1
  
  Bacon is a fairly broad term, here in Ireland boiled bacon and cabbage is common and quite tasty actually. We're not boiling rashers, it's a large cut of meat and boiling is a perfectly valid way to cook it.
32. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by J'raxis · 2012-05-26 00:11 · Score: 1
  
  Don't forget partially hydrogenated vegetable oil: You can make your pink slime taste just like chocolate!
  
  --
  Liberty in your lifetime
33. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-26 00:20 · Score: 0
  
  Anyone who BOILS BACON (nature's perfect food) really shouldn't be providing any culinary advice.
  Actually it's a pretty good way to cook it:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2guC4Badq2s
  The water keeps the initial temperature low so the meat retains its moisture and stays tender. So while the water is there you're less likely burn the meat, and when the water is finally gone, the fat has been rendered and is in the pan so you finish cooking in that. This way the meat is never fully exposed to high heat of the pan so is likely likely to burn.
34. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by BergZ · 2012-05-26 00:41 · Score: 2
  
  Who the hell told Uncle Ruckus (no relation) about slashdot?
  
  --
  Warning: This sig is not thread safe. For more information see Slashdot's sig policy.
35. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by der_pinchy · 2012-05-26 03:28 · Score: 0
  
  I did. your welcome!
36. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by bryan1945 · 2012-05-26 05:20 · Score: 1
  
  I feel for you on the cheese steak front. Born in Philly suburbs, and when I've had to go to other areas of the country... let's just say it's not good. I think the worst was Denver- a slab (about 1/3 inch thick) of ribeye(?), cheese melted over it, sliced raw onions on top, with a cup of pizza sauce on the side. I would have rather nuked Steak-Umms.
  Same deal with NY-style pizza. Even Philly can't get it quite right.
  I also like my bacon chewy.
  
  --
  Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
37. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Gordonjcp · 2012-05-26 07:55 · Score: 1
  
  I don't really like the "New York style" pizzas so much. I prefer the authentic Glasgow style pizza (per capita there are more people of Italian descent living in Glasgow than there is in New York, but there's not much in it) which has a really thick and fluffy pizza base almost like a bloody great big ciabatta.
38. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by sco08y · 2012-05-26 12:35 · Score: 1
  
  Bacon is a fairly broad term, here in Ireland boiled bacon and cabbage is common and quite tasty actually. We're not boiling rashers, it's a large cut of meat and boiling is a perfectly valid way to cook it.
  Ah, Ireland, always there to remind the world that English cooking isn't *quite* the worst.
39. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by CubicleView · 2012-05-26 21:59 · Score: 1
  
  :) Have you ever eaten a plate of bacon & cabbage with floury potatoes?
40. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-27 21:42 · Score: 0
  
  You must sure have a lot of functional retards then. How big is walmart exactly?
41. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-29 11:08 · Score: 0
  
  it always amuses me when foreigners judge america by our lowest common denominator crap. you know, the stuff that's only available here due to our sprawling machine of industry which europeans apparently have a fetish for, since they can't seem to get over it when sublimating their envy through these pathetic insults.
  for anything whatsoever that you attach cultural importance to, america can do it better; you'll just never find it at the shitty supermarket or wal*mart, which any native, who isn't penniless or functionally retarded, knows to avoid.
  except cheese. i don't know what's up with that, but i'm sure that if we wanted to, we could.
  So the majority of Americans are penniless and/or functionally retarded, is what you're saying. Damn, things are worse off here than I thought.
42. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by retchdog · 2012-05-30 10:18 · Score: 1
  
  oh, it's good for a lot of things, i just meant that i wouldn't go there for "nice" food and drink, although it's gotten better in terms of some staple ingredients.
  
  --
  "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
43. Re:USA should have some experience from Asia by retchdog · 2012-05-30 10:19 · Score: 1
  
  well, yeah, things are pretty dire here; can't argue with that. i didn't make up the rules. :-/
  
  --
  "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
Not sure that is new... by aaronb1138 · 2012-05-25 15:57 · Score: 5, Interesting

The amount of efficiency increase might be novel, or the input energy to remove the bubbles might be, but using an "acoustic field" is nothing new in industry. Lots of industrial systems use some form of vibrator to decrease bubble to surface adhesion for increased fluid heating speed and thus, efficiency. They also frequently use such systems to reduce surface foaming, especially in conjunction with vacuum systems to prevent fluid foaming or excess dissolved bubbles / gases.
1. Re:Not sure that is new... by TheLink · 2012-05-25 16:34 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Just curious, how much more efficient is this compared to using microwaves? I think with microwaves it doesn't matter that much that there are bubbles - the waves will heat the next available spot - no contact needed.
  
  Can't always use microwaves though e.g. liquid is not suitable, or it's not convenient.
  --
  
  Too many replies beneath your current threshold
2. Re:Not sure that is new... by jo_ham · 2012-05-25 18:57 · Score: 1
  
  It entirely depends on the dielectric properties of the liquid you're heating, the shape of the vessel, the material it's made from and the wavelength of the microwaves - even water can be difficult to heat in the "right" (or wrong as it would be) circumstances.
3. Re:Not sure that is new... by billstewart · 2012-05-25 19:04 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Back in the 70s we used to use loud music to agitate the water in our bongs - it made them much more effective and, like, cosmic!
  
  --
  
  Bill Stewart
  New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
4. Re:Not sure that is new... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 19:04 · Score: 0
  
  The underlying effect may be related to this observation of sound waves on aircraft wings helping the air remain attached to the wing surface reducing chance of aircraft stalling. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7867
  Any specialists in fluid dynamics care to comment?
5. Re:Not sure that is new... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 19:10 · Score: 0
  
  I could imagine something like this being used in a steam boiler (nuclear or coal plants) to increase the heat transfer rate. It would allow higher power operation with smaller equipment.
6. Re:Not sure that is new... by aaronb1138 · 2012-05-25 19:24 · Score: 1
  
  Until you blow a speaker....
  I kid, I kid. But seriously, don't blow the speakers.
7. Re:Not sure that is new... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 20:39 · Score: 0
  
  But does it use more energy to produce the acoustic field then the energy saved from using it?
8. Re:Not sure that is new... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 21:06 · Score: 0
  
  It's all fun and games until someone launches a jive-seeking missile.
9. Re:Not sure that is new... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 21:20 · Score: 0
  
  Lots of industrial systems use some form of vibrator to decrease bubble to surface adhesion for increased fluid heating speed
  I'd have thought that when using a vibrator, there wouldn't be any fluid that needed to adhere.
10. Re:Not sure that is new... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 23:25 · Score: 1
  
  Lots of industrial systems use some form of vibrator ... for increased ... efficiency.
  not just the industrial systems. i can think of one industry that uses various compact vibrators to reach certain goals faster and more efficiently than the standard process. it can also be used to reach those goals in quick succession. though using them for prolonged periods often leads to an eventual overall energy drain resulting in some extended downtime. so it's generally prudent to use them sparingly. it's an energy efficiency issue.
11. Re:Not sure that is new... by CubicleView · 2012-05-26 00:08 · Score: 1
  
  I'm interested to know if this would increase the efficiency of a hydrogen generator, the ones that split water using positive and negative plates. I'm sure it's been tested at any rate, seems obvious that it would be worth testing when you read the summary.
12. Re:Not sure that is new... by greywire · 2012-05-29 10:00 · Score: 1
  
  Lots of industrial systems use some form of vibrator ... for increased ... efficiency.
  not just the industrial systems. i can think of one industry that uses various compact vibrators to reach certain goals faster and more efficiently than the standard process. it can also be used to reach those goals in quick succession. though using them for prolonged periods often leads to an eventual overall energy drain resulting in some extended downtime. so it's generally prudent to use them sparingly. it's an energy efficiency issue.
  This has to be one of the best double entendre comments I have ever seen.
  Its so good I bet there are a lot of people who would only see the straightforward meaning. And for the rest of us, we can't read it with straight face.
  Bravo.
  
  --
  -- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
Oooohhhh by pinkj · 2012-05-25 15:57 · Score: 2

Sounds hot.
1. Re:Oooohhhh by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 16:51 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  That's it; I'm taking away your pun license.
That's why women shout in the kitchen? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 16:07 · Score: 0

Figures...
1. Re:That's why women shout in the kitchen? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 17:49 · Score: -1
  
  Figures...
  No it is because they changed a tampon and forgot to wash their hands. You can tell cuz menstrual blood is thicker and darker than regular blood.
This is a well known phenomenon by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 16:19 · Score: 1

Here's a paper from 2002 trying to quantize the effect in equations:
http://doc.utwente.nl/43791/1/rectified.pdf
a watched pot never boils by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 16:33 · Score: 0

unless you scream at it too.
A watched pot doesn't boil by Ukab+the+Great · 2012-05-25 16:50 · Score: 4, Funny

But a heard pot boils real good.
1. Re:A watched pot doesn't boil by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 19:01 · Score: 0
  
  All I heard was that you had pot that you weren't watching
sounds like a possible chain reaction(tm) here by kalieaire · 2012-05-25 16:56 · Score: 0

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/19/blehw.jpg/][IMG]http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/3562/blehw.jpg tell me someone watched this movie..
1. Re:sounds like a possible chain reaction(tm) here by JWSmythe · 2012-05-25 17:28 · Score: 1
  
  Nope. Google Images says that it looks similar to The Chain Reaction (1980, 5.4/10 stars). I think it really wanted to say Chain Reaction (1996, 5.3/10 stars). I can happily say, I missed both of them. :)
  
  --
  Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
2. Re:sounds like a possible chain reaction(tm) here by sir-gold · 2012-05-26 16:46 · Score: 1
  
  I did see that movie, and it was the first thing I thought of when I read the headline
Umm - Isn't This Already Well Known? by BlueStrat · 2012-05-25 16:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

There have been units around for years both for home use cleaning jewelry, etc, and for use in various industrial/manufacturing processes, including being used in electronics manufacturing, where I've seen them used to clean PCBs and other electronic assemblies & parts after they undergo a "dirty" manufacturing step like wave-solder, in order to remove all flux, dirt, and oils.
They used a heated tank of solvent that was agitated by ultrasound transducers to greatly increase cleaning ability and decrease cleaning time. The first time I saw one like that was in the late 1970s. I worked in the government/military-related electronics and aerospace industry.
Strat

--
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
1. Re:Umm - Isn't This Already Well Known? by hackertourist · 2012-05-25 20:23 · Score: 1
  
  In those units, the ultrasound is used to vibrate the dirt and shake it loose. The ones I know of (used in cleaning medical instruments) operate nowhere near the boiling point of the liquid.
2. Re:Umm - Isn't This Already Well Known? by BlueStrat · 2012-05-26 00:51 · Score: 2
  
  In those units, the ultrasound is used to vibrate the dirt and shake it loose. The ones I know of (used in cleaning medical instruments) operate nowhere near the boiling point of the liquid.
  Actually, you're correct as far as the units you mean, and I was wrong to include the home ultrasonic jewelry cleaners.
  The factory units I referred to, however, used boiling solvents. Of course, many solvents boil at lower temperatures than water. Some common solvents I saw used, like trichlorotriflouroethane, boil at quite low temperatures (118F, 47.7C for "Trich").
  The effect of the ultrasound on the boiling liquid was startling. With the ultrasound transducer(s) switched off, the solvent boiled in the normal, roiling way one is used to seeing. When the ultrasound was switched on, the roiling, boiling solvent appeared to become almost effervescent, like a carbonated water or soda container that's just been opened, only the tiny bubbles were far smaller and finer.
  I remember watching the line worker at that station madly filling racks with PCBs coming off the line and loading them into the cleaning tank after pulling out the rack already in there, closing the lid, and then rapidly unloading the rack that just came out into static-suppressive plastic parts tubs with a sheet of non-static foam placed between layers. And doing all that while wearing gloves. And also while keeping counts and making log-sheet entries for every lot/job number.
  I remember being amazed at the worker's speed and dexterity at loading/unloading the racks. Definitely no 3-martini, three-beer, or two-joint lunches (hey, it was the '70s) doing that job, I'll bet! It looked like an 8-hour-long dexterity and sobriety test designed by some sadistic doctor.
  Strat
  
  --
  Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
3. Re:Umm - Isn't This Already Well Known? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-26 15:02 · Score: 0
  
  Interesting. One of the effects of ultrasond on a liquid is cavitation or the production of gas bubbles. From these posts is seems that ultrasound makes the gas bubble that occur in boiling smaller. By breaking them up? Ultrasond in fluid creatings 'acoustic streaming', which means it pushes the fluid in front of a generator away from it in a stream. It would increase the mixing of fluid, which if boiling would even out the temperature in the fluid. Which would mean the boiling would occur more evenly, rather than just in the water near the heating element. It may also create 'gas streaming. I know all this because I'm a Chiropractor. We use medical therapeutic ultrasound; I taught physical therapy for a couple of terms. (Therapeutic US is 1 million cycles per second; jewelry cleaning and the next subject are 30,000 CPS
  Next: Current issue of Stereophile has an article on a record (vinyl LP) cleaning machine that uses ultrasound. The author says it's the best he's heard. Or rather ''not" heard, as there are less contaminants to make tics and pops, and less stuff to gum up the needle.
4. Re:Umm - Isn't This Already Well Known? by BlueStrat · 2012-05-26 15:46 · Score: 1
  
  Next: Current issue of Stereophile has an article on a record (vinyl LP) cleaning machine that uses ultrasound. The author says it's the best he's heard. Or rather ''not" heard, as there are less contaminants to make tics and pops, and less stuff to gum up the needle.
  Doubly strange. I seem to recall seeing ultrasonic record cleaners marketed back in the '80s in these specialty/import electronics catalogs like the ones from DAK Industries that were catalog-based discount electronics importers and direct-sale catalog distributors (the internet killed DAK in '92...but since then has been reborn as DAK 2000).
  DAK Industries also won a significant precedent-setting court case against Microsoft over licensing/copyright fee payments owed for the time between bankruptcy filing and when final settlements and rulings are complete.
  IANAL, etc. Bankruptcy law says that debts incurred after filing for bankruptcy go to the head of the line of creditors waiting for payment. Microsoft wanted to interpret it's licensing agreement for Word to mean that DAK was incurring new debt after the filing, and so should be among the first paid.
  The court disagreed. Microsoft had to stand in line and compete with all the other creditors. It's ongoing software license did not count as incurring new debt and thus did not qualify them to be among the first-priority creditors for purposes of bankruptcy settlement.
  Strat
  
  --
  Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
This reminds me... by Roskolnikov · 2012-05-25 16:58 · Score: 3, Interesting

of the acoustic effects on disk arrays (and a Dtrace video that showed shouting having a detrimental effect on drive efficiency).
wouldn't a pressurized vessel (cooker) have the same end result (in that vapor layer formation is prevented or retarded?)
or as someone else mentioned, using microwaves to boil/heat faster?
is the 17% efficiency gain taking into account the energy needed to blast the liquid with Eminem?
the 'article' looks like a fluff piece and the comments say much the same, nothing to see here move along.

--
Unix, an obscure operating system developed by bored researchers in an attempt to get a better game playing experience.
1. Re:This reminds me... by timothy · 2012-05-25 17:07 · Score: 2
  
  Here's the shouting-at-disks bit ;)
  http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/01/02/0626201/why-not-to-shout-at-your-disk-array
  timothy
  
  --
  jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
2. Re:This reminds me... by JWSmythe · 2012-05-25 17:31 · Score: 1
  
  There's no mention of kicking them to get a failing disk to spin up... Those come after asking nicely, and threatening. The last one actually works. :)
  
  --
  Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
3. Re:This reminds me... by aaronb1138 · 2012-05-25 20:46 · Score: 1
  
  Doh, my sub sits a little close to my case. Might be time to move some equipment.
4. Re:This reminds me... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-27 07:21 · Score: 0
  
  Do they use any kind of acoustics in nuclear fusion?
fp Dol3l by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 17:05 · Score: -1

who are i8tersted fatal 8istakes,
Refrigeration evaporator coils? by anubi · 2012-05-25 18:01 · Score: 3, Interesting

Anyone using this in industrial refrigeration?

I can't help but think of deliberately running a fancoil unit with an unbalanced fan so it vibrates the evaporator coil.

Or, possibly mounting piezoelectric "shakers" to the evaporator tubes and deliberately manufacturing them to resonate.

Thanks, Hessian, for bringing this up. Anything I can do to increase efficiency in refrigeration is of great interest to me.

There are a lot of unpublished tricks I have come across that significantly increase refrigeration efficiency, but have not implemented because the expense of dealing with the increased sophistication was greater than the expense of energy loss in the simple system. This trick you showed me will make an interesting study.

I will keep it in the lab for now, as I am sure I will also face metal fatiguing and work-hardening issues.

--
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
1. Re:Refrigeration evaporator coils? by Savantissimo · 2012-05-26 10:35 · Score: 1
  
  You might check out Rex Research for odd (and usually, but not always, wrong) ideas on heating and cooling (among other things).
  There are many, many cranks and perpetual-motion machines on this site. There are also some workable devices mixed in. The former are sometimes entertaining and the latter are often fascinating. The ones which I can't tell if they're brilliant or just cranks are my favorites.
  Some relevant bits, (no guarantees, but less flaky than most):
  Heat / Cold [section]
  Appropriate / Low Technologies [section]
  DAVEY : Sonic Resonance Boiler
  SCHAEFFFER : Steam Generator [maybe just cavitation]
  GRIGGS : Hydrosonic Pump
  LEIGHTON, Tim & BIRKIN, Peter : Ultrasonic Nozzle
  COTTELL : Ultrasonic Fuel-Water Burner
  KENT, Anthony : SASER ~ Sound Amplification by Stimulation Emission of Radiation - TeraHz generator
  MARKS, Alvin : Aerosol Electric Generator / MagnetoThermoDynamic Power Converter
  LaVOIE, Eric : Burner Booster
  AVEDON : Thermal Equalizer
  CUPPETILLI : Heating System
  KAMEN : Power Generation / Water Purification System
  LINSON-SMITH : Water Flow Control System
  MAIER-LAXHUBER : Zeolite Adsorption Heating/Cooling
  MAISOTSENKO : Indirect Evaporative Cooling [++, definitely the sort of thing you're looking for]]
  SINGH : AirTap Water Heater
  HOLLIS, Tom : MileageMatrix Thermostat
  KALINA, Alexander : Ammonia-Steam Cycle
  MINTO, Wallace : Freon Power Wheel
  POTTER, Jared : Hydrothermal Spallation Drill
  RANQUE, G. : Vortex Tube
  ROBAR, Sheldon : Freon Engine
  ROSOCHA, Louis : Plasma-Assisted Combustion
  VATISTAS : Vortex Cooling [heat exchanger]
  WEBSTER / HEISE : Valve
  Water / Steam [section, though much nonsense here, too]
  ZINN : Combustor ["Coal Burns Best in Pipes that Hum", another GA Tech project]
  There are several other pumps and engines and improvements to conventional forms of the same in there that are workable (and hundreds that aren't).
  Many other interesting areas at this site also, e.g. mechanical, aircraft,
  
  --
  "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
2. Re:Refrigeration evaporator coils? by anubi · 2012-05-26 17:37 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks, Sav!
  
  I'll bookmark this one... that's an interesting link!
  
  You are right... every cutting edge technology has its share of cranks - what makes it really bad is quite a few cranks use credentials from respected institutions to lend credibility to their scam.
  
  What'cha think about this one?
  
  http://www.terawatt.com/
  
  --
  "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
Fir5t by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 18:20 · Score: -1

shitheads. *BSD that comprise aMLERICA) might be
Screeching by mattr · 2012-05-25 18:27 · Score: 2

I hesitate to ask what it sounds like when you stand next to a boiler being blasted with energetic sound waves.
USAian foods by billstewart · 2012-05-25 19:02 · Score: 1

California makes a lot of really great cheeses, so maybe you're just not going to the right stores. Whole Foods is a good start, or (if you're in the Bay Area), your local foodie or hippie place (Berkeley Bowl, Cheese Board, Piazza's, etc.) Cowgirl Creamery if you get there.
On the other hand, Japan has all kinds of amazing over-packaged overly-instant foods, some of which are available here, to balance out the delicate nutritious real stuff.

--

Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
1. Re:USAian foods by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-26 03:03 · Score: 0
  
  To be fair all those places listed import significantly from Wisconsin. It is so far and away from the rest of the worlds culture (okay not Canadian) it may as well be another country.
  My personal favorite way to get cheese: https://www.wisconsincheesemart.com/ My god 15 year cheddar that tastes like barnyard dirt is great. Yet their 13 year cheddar -ask for rind side- is better. Cheese by year and location is just as important as wine. It is merely under appreciated.
m1oD up by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 19:15 · Score: -1

ma7 bE hurting the
EP? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-25 19:41 · Score: -1, Flamebait

the same operation were compounded session and join in operating systems that co8prise the project to
So this means... by gaelfx · 2012-05-25 20:21 · Score: 1

So this means the watched pot only boils if it's listening to some kickin' tunes? Sweet.
Of course by Dunbal · 2012-05-25 23:30 · Score: 1

Just blowing gently on the surface works just as well, and is probably much cheaper.

--
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Superfluid Helium by trout007 · 2012-05-26 01:06 · Score: 1

Helium has some strange properties. It has a negative JT coefficient for temperatures above about 50K. This means that when it is compressed it cools down instead of heating up.
One of the most interesting is when it's a liquid it will boil until it gets to a transition temperature where it becomes a superfluid. Here the viscosity and heat transfer coefficient becomes near 0. So all boiling stops because any heat input is transferred to the molecules on the surface and they vaporize.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z6UJbwxBZI

--
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
All i saw here by Flipstylee · 2012-05-26 01:42 · Score: 1

was add energy more in, get more energy out.
That explains it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-26 03:33 · Score: 0

Why my pressure cooker makes so much noise!
Sound Increases the Efficiency of Boiling by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-26 11:43 · Score: 0

Uh oh. I smell the next technological cooking gadget to come along.
Didn't work for me... by otaku244 · 2012-05-26 14:58 · Score: 1

I tried yelling "BOIL!!!" over and over at the pot I was using to boil an egg just now. Never happened. Wait... wasn't there also a study proving that a watched pot never boils?

--
Mod me down, I shall become more off-topic than you could possibly imagine.
beer anyone? by Gyorg · 2012-05-26 20:04 · Score: 1

This might have application in brewing....I wonder if this would have any effect on the emission of di-methyl sulfide.