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zero gravity
This futuristic glass lets astronauts drink whiskey in space
*Provided you’ve figured out a way to travel into space.
A DRINKS COMPANY HAS developed a whiskey glass that can be used in an zero-gravity environment.
Scotch whiskey maker Ballantine’s got the Open Space Agency, a citizen group that engages in space projects, to develop a glass that could both hold liquor and control its movement so you could drink from it.
The result is a rounded off glass that can create the necessary surface tension to hold the liquor down.
On the outside, it looks like a traditional glass, but there are a number of mechanisms hidden away to ensure your drink stays in place.
For one, the glass is made from 3D-printed PLA plastic – the same materials and process that’s used for heart valves – while the base plate is made out of stainless steel.
Inside the base is a 10kg pull magnet, allowing you to put the glass down on a metal table or wall.
A custom loading nozzle is inserted into a one-way valve located at the base of the glass, allowing someone to ‘pour’ a drink without spilling it.
When someone wants to drink it, the liquor itself passes through valves on the side of the glass all the way up to the mouthpiece.
The glass was tested at the ZARM Zero-G Drop Tower in Bremen, Germany, to see if it worked in microgravity.
It’s not the first time the topics of whiskey and space have met. Late last month, an unmanned cargo ship loaded with emergency supplies – including whiskey – were sent up to the International Space Station.
The whiskey was sent up as part of a science experiment to see how time in a zero-gravity environment affects its taste.
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