Different cultures have different ways of dealing with
the
elimination of solid body wastes. "Western" cultures
invented a specific "sit down" toilet system for
accommodating the task, while at least some "Eastern"
cultures merely expanded upon the classic-for-all
"chamber
pot" system
(the pot connects to the sewer line). A
squatting position is employed when using a chamber
pot,
not a sitting position.
Now consider that squatting position, and how
scrunched-
up-into-a-small space the body is. Let us imagine a kind
of "drum" big enough to surround that squatting body
(the
person's back is against the curved wall).
In Space such a drum could be rotated to generate a
centrifugal effect. It could be rotated from the outside,
by
a motorized roller that contacts its outer surface, with
other rollers holding it in place. Some
weights could be added at appropriate places on the
inside
of the drum, to arrange that the center-of-mass is close
to
the rotation axis, which makes the rotation more
smooth.
The weights could be adjustable, for different persons
using this system. The weights could be a double-duty
thing (part of the overall food-storage queue, maybe).
The drum doesn't need to rotate super-fast (perhaps
once per second); it merely needs to provide an
environment
in
which solid wastes can "fall" away from the body; there
should be no risk of causing dizziness.
On the inner wall of this drum we permanently mount a
special chamber pot. Before using it, we put a plastic
bag
into it (the special-ness of the pot lets it hold the bag in
place). There should also be a roll of toilet paper handy.
The user would adjust the weights and install the bag
and
check the roll for sufficient paper, first of all, of course.
So now the needy person gets into a squatting position,
moves sideways into the drum, pulls a curtain over the
opening, and pushes a button to begin the drum's
rotation. The other side of the drum is "open", but a
stationary wall, part of the spacecraft, is there. The
button can be located on that wall right in the center of
the circular drum-opening.
Clothing is moved out of the way, and the necessary task
can be performed. It should be possible for this system
to
accommodate either type of body waste, regardless of
the
sex of the person using it.
The edges of the plastic bag can be pulled from the
chamber pot, and the bag can be sealed. Clothing is re-
adjusted and the button on the wall is pushed again --
easy to get at even while the drum rotates, because of
being located in the center of that non-rotating side-
wall.
The drum's rotation gradually slows to a stop. Ideally,
we
would want the final stop-orientation (because of
location of chamber pot on inside of drum, and the
relative orientation of the outside curtain) to always be
the same place. The curtain is pulled aside and the
person can exit, taking the bag along for final disposal
or recycling-of-biomass.
Finally, for the sake of complete dynamic balance, there
should
be a second drum that rotates the opposite direction.
The mass it rotates could also be, for example, part of
the overall food-storage queue. Or maybe a water tank.
It doesn't especially need to be adjustable;
accelerometers can reveal the masses of both drums
when rotation
begins, and the rotation rates can be computer-
controlled, so that both drums have equal and opposite
total angular momentum.