The task of heating eyedrops is on everyone's mind these days. One must really keep their eyes open for these trends.

The crazy straw eyedropper heats eyedrops up to the required 105F required to liquify meibomian secretions using friction alone. The idea is to implement a meandering accordion-style channel leading to the orifice of the eyedropper. As pressure is applied, the liquid flows through this channel and heats up via frictional forces. The mechanism will be adjusted to impart a sufficient amount of heat from an ambient starting temperature. A temperature-sensitive dye will be embedded in the final stage of the channel to confirm the proper temperature has been reached. If the user finds the temperature is not suitable, they can twist and loop the channel around all sorts of ways to impart further frictional heating from bends and elongation. Perhaps there will be little ribs and microstructures on the inner surface to amplify heating.
-- daseva, Oct 18 2023

My solution. Diesel_20Engine_20C...Eye_20Drop_20Heater
Compress the air / gas mixture, then release the gas out of an upper chamber outlet and the liquid out of a lower chamber outlet. [doctorremulac3, Oct 18 2023]

I had just been hearing about how Diesel invented the engine named after him after seeing a pressure actuated tender igniter. (I'll see if I can find a link)

Not sure how much friction you'd get with this method, fluid is pretty smooth. I wonder if atomizing the drops, putting them into a chamber and compressing the gas would be the way to do it.
-- doctorremulac3, Oct 18 2023


Which I already had addressed clearly. The gas goes out the top, the liquid goes out the bottom. Not only does this allow the liquid to retain the temperature increase, it keeps it from spraying a hole into your eyeball.

Reading is awesome.
-- doctorremulac3, Oct 18 2023


The frictional losses of this device will ensure a low-pressure outlet stream.
-- daseva, Oct 18 2023



random, halfbakery