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From: john@uwmacc.UUCP (John Jacobsen)
Newsgroups: sci.physics
Subject: Re: The physics of coffee cups
Message-ID: <459@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 2-Nov-86 15:24:24 EST
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.459
Posted: Sun Nov  2 15:24:24 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Nov-86 00:38:11 EST
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Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
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> MESSAGE
> 	It seems to me that a nice thick coffee mug is the proper design
> because, when the coffee is 1st poured it is too hot to drink.  The large
> mass absorbs a lot of the heat quickly cooling it down to a drinkable level.
> After that, the thick walls of the cup insulate the coffee so that it doesn't
> keep on cooling quickly.  Is this right?  Maybe a coffee cup has to be made
> with the walls in two layers.  The inner layer being thermally conductive
> in order to absorb heat quickly, and the outer layer insulative.

The French have a better solution -- drink out of bevel-lipped bowls.  The
coffee in the center of the bowl stays warm while the coffee at the lips
cools quickly to drinking temperature.  Not a very 'physical' explanation
but it works for me.


John E. Jacobsen
University of Wisconsin -- Madison Academic Computing Center
john@unix.macc.wisc.edu  or  {allegra|seismo|ihnp4...}!uwvax!uwmacc!john