0g Bong

The Zero-G Bar will hopefully be located in a section of outer space where controlled substance laws are relaxed and an intergalactic assortment of mind-altering intoxicants are available to the adventurous astronaut. It's easy to score Orion's Organic Betelgeuse Bud, but how can you smoke it in a bong without gravity? The weed needs to burn while the toker sucks the gas stream through a volume of water. The problem on spaceships and orbital stations is the liquid balls up and floats around and the bong water gets in your mouth and all over the cabin.

The BSQ 0g Bong is designed to function in low gravity environments and still have the familiar form of that old Apogee multichambered plexi model from your dorm room days at Starfreak Academy. The herb burns in a bowl on a hollow stem and bubbles through the water when the mouth seals against the cylinder top and creates a negative pressure, a.k.a. 'taking a hit.'

The bowl of the bong is a spherical screen chamber that opens along its equator and compressed pellets of dried leaves are placed inside and snapped shut. The screen chamber sits inside an airtight glass bulb enclosure with a valve fitting for drawing breathable air from the cabin or a bottled supply. A small coiled rheostat extends from the dome apex of the screen chamber lid hemisphere on a spring loaded shock absorber shaft. The flat face of the coil lightly contacts the top of the pot pellet. Current is sent through the wire, raising the coil metal surface temperature enough to heat the mind fuel to the combustion point. Pressure passes the pleasurable gasses away from the lump and into the lungs

The bowl assembly is a self contained bud burning unit with multiple applications in 'float and fly' situations. A standard fitting allows attachment to the pressure suit helmet for EVAs. Hereafter the term "bowl bulb" will reference this subsystem which has halfbakery merit of its own. On the 0g, the bowl bulb connects to a stem sticking down into a liquid mass contained inside the space bong's 'centrifugal chamber.'

The 'centrifugal chamber' works by spinning the base of the bong around fast enough that the resultant forces simulate a gravitational field. The mechanical motion establishes an equilibrium that allows a gas to bubble through a liquid and then easily inhaled downstream. The beauty of the 0g Bong is that while the bowl bulb and centrifugal chamber are circling, the toker can levitate above a stationary mouthpiece while catching a buzz-on.

To form a mental image of the 0g Bong, picture your lips on a standard cylinder, stem, & bowl design b-hitter, 2" diameter and 12" or more long. Now imagine as you stare down the outside of the tube, the plastic bends 90 degrees and the lower half spins while you are standing still. The joint at this junction moves smoothly and maintains a tight seal.

The bong mouthpiece is fitted with flaps that fix closed the inhalation end until a user pushes down to open the valve. A single button press revs up the centrifigul chamber, heats the bowl bulb rheostat, and allows airflow between burning stash and lost-in-space stoner. Press the button twice and the bowl bulb vacuums the ashes. Reloading the 0g Bong may someday be automated, but currently requires a manual fill.