Too Much Free Time

Too Much Free Time

by Mike Masnick




When Coffee Goes High Tech

from the head-for-the-hills dept

Apparently coffee was in need of a jolt of high tech inspiration. Starting in just a few weeks you'll be able to buy a product that most of you probably never thought was necessary at all: a single serving can of coffee that heats itself. The idea is that you buy the can, and when you're ready to drink it, you push a button, and it heats itself up. No batteries or electricity needed. Just push the button, let the calcium oxide (yum!) mix with water, and voila, you have a steaming hot cup of joe. Who knew that heating up water was too difficult?

5 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
 

Reader Comments

(Flattened / Threaded)

    Dec 20th, 2004 @ 2:08am
  • Hey, what about quick heating cars?

    by dorpus

    It's -1F (-18C) here, and although my car has the premium windshield washer fluid rated to -30C, it froze solid on the windshield while driving, and it was extremely dangerous. I'd stop, the sludge would melt, but then when I drove, the wind chill would freeze it again. Is there a way to create chemically reactive windshield washer or something?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Dec 20th, 2004 @ 2:43am
  • Nescafe shipped these in the UK a while back.

    by Mark

    Around 18 months to two years ago Nescafe in the UK sold a couple of varieties of their coffee in 'instant-heating' cans. Just press a button to set off the reaction, wait a minute or two and voila, hot Nescafe coffee wherever you are.

    Sadly, it wasn't great coffee but the cans were useful if you wanted to take a couple in a pack when cycling/hill-walking/biking etc and would end up somewhere without services.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

    • Dec 21st, 2004 @ 1:02pm
    • Re: Nescafe shipped these in the UK a while back.

      by Dane

      As Mark said these were released in UK (about 3 years ago) but were a flop.

      They were expensive and you only get a tiny bit of the good stuff inside the can...

      (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

    Dec 20th, 2004 @ 2:48am
  • Hot Ice

    by dorpus

    In an opposite (?) development, a Japanese team discovered that water forms ice crystals inside of carbon nanotubes, even above room temperature (27 C). It's the first time that ice has been observed at this temperature, without extreme pressure. When the nanotubes were heated to 45C, the ice rapidly evaporated. It may have uses in inkjet printers.

    http://flash24.kyodo.co.jp/?MID=RANDOM&PG=STORY&NGID=soci&NWID=2004122001002426

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Dec 20th, 2004 @ 3:08am
  • No Subject Given

    by bleed

    :) this has been around in italy for as long as i can remember. at least 2 decades...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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