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Engineering the Perfect Coffee Mug
Nerval's Lobster writes "From the annals of Really Important Science comes word that a research assistant who picked up his B.S. just seven months ago has invented a coffee mug designed to keep java at just the right piping-hot temperature for hours. Logan Maxwell, who got his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University in May, created the "Temperfect" mug as part of his senior design project for the College of Engineering. Most insulated mugs have two walls separated by a soft vacuum that insulates the temperature of a liquid inside from the temperature of the air outside. Maxwell's design has a third layer of insulation in a third wall wrapped around the inner basin of the mug. Inside is a chemical insulator that is solid at room temperature but melts into a liquid at 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The insulator – which Maxwell won't identify but swears is non-toxic – turns to liquid as it absorbs the extra heat of coffee poured into the mug at temperatures higher than 140 F, cooling it to a drinkable temperature quickly. As the heat of the coffee escapes, the insulating material releases heat through the inner wall of the mug to keep it hot as long as possible; a graph mapping the performance of a prototype shows it could keep a cup of coffee at between 128 F and 145 F for as long as 90 minutes. "Phase-change" coffee-mug insulation was patented during the 1960s, but has never been marketed because they are difficult and expensive to manufacture compared to simpler forms of insulation. While working on the Temperfect design, Maxwell met Belgian-born industrial designer Dean Verhoeven, president of consulting form Ancona Research, Inc., who had been working on a similar design and had already worked out how to manufacture a three-walled insulated mug cost effectively. The two co-founded a company called Joevo to manufacture the mugs." According to the Joevo Kickstarter page, you can get one starting at $40. For that much, I'd like a clever lid like this Contigo has.
This is just the same approach as Coffee Joulies, which is a former Kickstarter project. I have a bunch of these, they work well. No need for a custom mug.
The insulator – which Maxwell won't identify but swears is non-toxic
I think this is a case where it most certainly needs to be disclosed in an MSDS and/or patent filing (though more likely in the MSDS, as the patent filing is allowed to be vague).
It holds 800ml.
If you need insulation, you are drinking it too slow.
perhaps the ability to add an iv-drip
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
It's too tall and thin; it will tip over easily (not that it matters if it has a spill-proof lid, but still...).
A $40 coffee mug. Come here and let me slap you.
I just need it hot enough until I finish drinking it.
And having coffee sit around at 140 degree will eventually make it taste like shit.
It's a cool design and invention, but it's one that should be applied somewhere else.
This is just the same approach as Coffee Joulies, which is a former Kickstarter project. I have a bunch of these, they work well. No need for a custom mug.
Well, it's not quite the same as coffee joulies, for a number of reasons.
... you won't lose the integrated joulies. ... different name.
... but it's not breaking new ground.
First, it's integrated/built in.
Second, well
Third... uh
Seriously though, this is just an improvement on the thermos. A fancy improvement, and it might even be more effective
- Nec Impar Pluribus, or so I'm told.
> (...) As the heat of the coffee escapes, the insulating material releases heat through the inner wall of the mug to keep it hot as long as possible (...)
This also means that, early in the morning, the insulating layer will stay cold as long as possible and cool down your coffee. Thermodynamics is a bitch :(
Captcha: "delirium"... how adequate
sounds ideal for /american style/ coffee; which has been criticised for being less than perfect.
espresso anyone?
It'll never sell to me. There are sunk costs involved. I have too much engineering invested in non-linear coffee consumption as cheap mugs and paper cups lose heat. Slowly at first, with much intake of the aroma. Then cautious sips, then normal sips, then fairly heavy consumption somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3rd of the way down. It ain't broke. I'm not fixing it. It works anywhere. No need to buy an expensive mug, take it with me everywhere, wash it, and worry about losing it.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
... is like making love in a canoe ...
The unnamed insulator is Spam. Not sure if that makes it toxic or non-toxic, though.
-
Unless the "phase change" material is quite massive, making the mug heavy, there is no way that a thin layer can literally cool a piping hot drink enough to be useful, let alone act as a temperature maintainer. A well built thermal mug can also keep a hot liquid between 128 and 140F for 90 minutes. This smacks of a bit of a con. Well done, con.
My money is on Gallium:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aolRO9eteSk
It melts at 30C and is actually non toxic. Maybe he alloys something with it to bump the melting point up a little, though, basic thermo tells me an alloy will melt at a lower temp.
Anyway, there are variations on this that aren't so nicely non-toxic due to components like: tin, bismuth, antimony and lead.
http://scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/thermo/thermo4.html
90 minutes is not "hours." It's not even plural; it's less than 2 hours.
Unity? Screw that: XFCE. Slashdot Beta? Screw that: SoylentNews. Australis? Screw that: Pale Moon. UX developers DIAF
Who needs that? Doesn't everyone on this site tend to slam the caffeine down as quickly as possible?
People, come on. It's no fun if you don't disclose the materials. Just as a guess, I'd reckon they're using Polycaprolactone. It's a non-toxic thermoplastic, reasonably cheap and melts at around 60C (i.e. 140F). The heat of fusion seems to be around 140 kJ/kg, which is reasonable.
It's easily obtainable for hobbyists and actually quite fun to play around with, as it melts in water and can then be shaped by hand. Or, for that respect, put into your coffee to maintain a certain temperature.
My guess is the mystery insulator material is beeswax. At least, the temperatures are about right, it's non-toxic, and doesn't oxidize AFAIK.
The road to tyranny has always been paved with claims of necessity.
I bet in all the research done, a lid would have made a big difference. My problem here is where in this graph do we see the loss of fluid?
If i wanna let a cup of coffee sit out, that's fine, but i'm drinking it = less surface area to interact with the insulation and cup itself.
I remember hearing about this as a senior project at New Mexico Tech- I think for some Materials Engineer students- probably wouldn't be able to get it patented.
... is a chemical insulator that is solid at room temperature but melts into a liquid at 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The insulator – which Maxwell won't identify but swears is non-toxic...
Colud be polycaprolactone but that would be expensive...
Probably paraffin wax with a melting point of 60 degrees C.
What is wrong with Yankees?
Can you not drink cofee that is hot?
140 F is just 60 Celsius. A baby would complain that is barely warm.
http://french.alibaba.com/product-gs/coffee-warmer-electronic-tea-warmer-usb-cup-coffee-warmer-for-laptop-783107725.html
Sry it s the first one i found, and much less than 40$
Or even cooler, merge both!
However I spy a problem. If the drink isn't hot enough to begin with then the initial setup conditions aren't met. I say this mainly because my current brews are coming out a little tepid. Such a cup would not correct this.
You may say this is nitpicking, but they are charging a premium price. The customer is entitled to nitpick at those prices.
What a piker.
Just line your coffee mug with plutonium. That'll keep it warm.
If it melts at 30C then it also freezes there - too low a temp to keep the coffee hot when it gives up its latent heat
I called it.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I just set my ceramic mug on top of my Apple Airport, that seems to keep it warm.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
This is precisely one thing that irks me about living in the US. People get the coffee culture completely wrong, they even say things like "let's grab a coffee". In civilized countries, you never *walk* around with a coffee. You sit down, spend 10 focused minutes on an espresso and maybe conversation and then go on doing things with both hands. Walking around holding some significant fraction of gallon of coffee is just pointless - you get gorilla arm, you never enjoy coffee and you never enjoy a real break.
Seems relevant.
http://www.tidbitsfortechs.com/2013/10/a-techs-guide-to-a-decent-cup-of-coffee/
Nobodies Prefect
Tidbits for Techs Technology Blog
"Coffee culture"? "Gorilla arm"? Are you for fucking real? It's just a drink. Not everybody turns it into a ritual.
A slightly more subtle than glaringly obvious example of the No True Scotsman fallacy.
Unless you've got incredibly hot coffee under pressure not really the same thing as this phase change material :)
It's just adding "thermal mass", like the old trick of putting a lot of stuff in a furnace to keep the temperature more stable.
So it's a different trick, but it looks like both tricks get the job done in a lot of cases. You'll see a very slow decline in temperature with the lumps of stainless steel and a steady temperature then a sharp decline with the phase change material. So long as you drink the stuff in the right time window both are going to work, and with the lumps of stainless steel you can increase the time window by putting another one or two in.
Of course that would be obvious to somebody that has used them but I'm writing this for anyone else that wants to read it.
While I enjoy the same things you stated, I don't really see how you "can't take coffee seriously" if you ever do these things. As a working individual, there are times when I simply don't have the time to sit down and chat for a while. But I sure as hell would love to be able to have a hot cup of coffee as I walk to a meeting or something.
I should have read more about these things since they appear to be wax filled lumps of stainless steel instead of just stainless steel.
These tests must be performed where relevant on both the mug, the lid and the mug with the lid.
It must not loose more than 20 percent of the initial energy of the contained liquid for 1 hour.
It has to survive a
dishwasher
washing machine
dryer
It must survive a 60 gravity impact on every facet on
concrete
steel
tungsten
tungsten carbide
It must to survive the effects of a solid tungsten carbide cutting tool for 10 seconds.
It has to survive all of this at -40, -20, 0 , 25 and 150 Celsius.
At nominal room temperature it has to survive and be cleanable .50 BMG bullet fired from at minimum a 20" barrel at 300 yards.
muratic acid for 12 hours
1 oz gasoline until evaporated
1 oz grain alcohol until evaporated
1 oz acetone until evaporated.
An impact from a
It has to look cool.
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
No cup of coffee should need to sit around more than 30 minutes. If you're doing hours of reading or socializing, you should be having more than one cup, sized appropriately to your preferences and tolerance.
Hell, part of the social ritual is the host refilling the beverage, a demonstration of their ability to provide an abundance to a guest.
I think you clearly validated their hyperbole regarding U.S. work culture. As someone who is also pressured by work to a degree of questionable ethical limits, I'm a bit disappoint to see another person standing up for the work place culture that is demonstrably wrong (not entirely about the coffee thing, but with regards to hustle and bustle).
there are times when I simply don't have the time to sit down and chat for a while
I really don't understand how one could interpret that to mean that I *never* have time to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. Or whatever beverage I like. There are plenty of times at work where I'll take 10-20 minutes and enjoy a cup of green tea while just relaxing. But occasionally, I may have a meeting that I have to go, immediately following an hour or two of trying to work through some bugs in code. In that three hour block, I would like some coffee, but there aren't any breaks possible.
Maybe you guys never really go to cafes or coffee shops, but in my home town, there are around 6 starbucks at various locations, and they are almost always full to the brim of people sitting, relaxing, and enjoying a hot drink. And that's usually the same picture I see at most starbucks and coffee shops in general.
It is definitely easy to cherry pick the occasions when working individuals unfortunately don't have time to stop and enjoy a cup of coffee, but then again, I find that cherry picking is usually the basis for most arguments i read...
There is so much more to the perfect coffee mug. How is the rim? If it is too thick, your coffee dribbles down your lip or down the side of the cup. Too thin and it can feel like your lips is being sliced (like a paper cut, ouch). Similarly, diameter is critical, too big and the coffee sloshes out either side, too small and you can't get that satisfying slug of coffee. And what about interior materials? Plastic, usually picks up odor. Stainless steel, some give you that metallic taste. And don't get me started on travel mugs. Hole size, stopper mechanism, ease of use, spill proof, ability to fit in cup holders.
No, this is far from perfect.
Most likely material is palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid, CH3(CH2)14CO2H), which has a melting point of 62.8C and an enthalpy of fusion of 209.5 kJ/kg. (see Tikalon Blog). I think it's food grade. so no problems there.
My japanese mug keeps stuff hot for 8+ hours and it's only double wall.
yes, generally speaking this is standard operation of the modern western material world where everything is used and consumed. Like your mom. What is your point? Move to Afghanistan if you don't like it hippy.
I'll never understand the fascination with beverage container designs that encourage spilling. Ever since getting a Highwave Hotjo several years ago, I've been able to keep coffee (or masala tea more often these days) next to my electronics projects all day. Its shape resists spilling and it even has a nonskid mat on the bottom. I've had mine for, gosh, probably six or seven years and it's still as good as new.
Temperature stability seems likle a great idea, but this vessel design only seems well-suited for an automotive cupholder.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
I am also an espresso drinker, so I would not use it for coffee, but I see it could be useful for tea.
Having worked in Germany and the US, I find your pomposity funny. See, in Germany, I was expected to be at my computer working like a drone except during the union mandated breaks, at which I had regulated social time. In the U.S. I'm expected to walk around with my coffee cup and talk to my people. Sort of Lumberg'ish, but it works better. Granted, it means that I have to have *gasp* a social relation with my coworkers and subordinates, but it also helps quite a bit when we need to cover for someone with sick family or something like that.
You sit down, spend 10 focused minutes on an espresso and maybe conversation and then go on doing things with both hands.
That's so civilized. At what point is their financial system bailed out by Germany or other countries that actually do shit during the day?
Americans want to do everything while doing something else. We are great at working hard, but suck at enjoying life. Cases in point: Fast food, big box retailers, amusement parks, even bars (which are invariably filled with lotto machines, tv tuned to sports, bands playing, etc).
given that Coffee Joulies appeared on Shark Tank (I don't recall that a deal was made), and if there is a patent on the ingredients, I wouldn't be surprised if a licensing deal was involved.
This is.
From Cliff Stoll's Acme Klein Bottles
mark "wish it wasn't quite that expensive...."
Yes, but, Starbucks?
No, I'm sorry, he was right. You get the coffee culture completely wrong.
Wax has been used for phase change cooling for quite some time. Any ways, a wiki link: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraffin_wax And, a table of (candle) wax melting points: http://www.nuscentscandle.com/melt-point-and-pour-candle-wax-temperature-chart/ You just have to account for the expansion, as always.