Science: Health: Eye: Eye Drops
Diesel Engine Concept Eye Drop Heater   (0)  [vote for, against]
Sprays an atomized mist into a chamber that you then compress to heat the air/mist mixture.

1- Two chambers, both squeezable, the big chamber you squeeze that releases a measured amount of mist into the second chamber.

2- You them squeeze the second chamber that lets more air in through a one way valve as you increase the pressure.

3- Then you turn it upside down and slowly squeeze open a mechanism that releases the air through the top and the liquid through the bottom into your eyes.

The gas being released at the top will come out cold, but the liquid coming out the bottom will remain warm because being a liquid it's not going to expand and lose all the heat you imparted to it, that only happening to the gas portion.

This is all made with the same machinery that makes plastic eye drop bottles, albeit with some extra parts.

Gonna make a prototype out of a standard medical syringe and see how it works. I don't know if people care about cold eye drops that much but if so might evaluate this as a possible product. I don’t think I n ed two chambers, can do it with one.
-- doctorremulac3, Oct 18 2023

This, only with eyedrops. https://www.youtube...watch?v=fIiiqlX83X0
And importantly, the dual exit release, gas out the top, liquid out the bottom. [doctorremulac3, Oct 18 2023]

//that only happening to the gas portion.//

Lots of liquids, particularly water, are in a liquid/gas phase equilibrium determined by pressure & temperature.
-- bs0u0155, Oct 18 2023


I'm pretty sure every substance has a vapor pressure.
-- daseva, Oct 18 2023


Yes, but probably not imparted by a little plastic squeeze bulb between your thumb and forefinger.

PSI might be about 60, temp about 110, wild guess. But it would be warm which would be the purpose.

Which again, I don't use eyedrops so not sure how alluring having them be warm is.
-- doctorremulac3, Oct 18 2023


I don't think you need to spray/atomize first.
1: Add small amount of liquid into larger chamber
2: Close & seal
3: Compress (& so heat) air
4: Shake to mix warm air through liquid
5: Extract now-warm liquid, by compressing further with the same plunger (so no "re-expansion" cooling) through valve at the bottom. Valve will need good control to reduce squirting too much liquid; perhaps a miniaturised metering valve
Because there's only a tiny volume required, you can probably get a pretty high pressure, using mechanical advantage & a hand-lever type design.
-- neutrinos_shadow, Oct 18 2023


Good thinking, but I don't think you even need to go that far with the design.

Here's what I'm going to do:

1- Regular syringe, then do the compression heating of the liquid, then release the plunger and open the dropper end. The air will cool when it expands, but the liquid isn't going to cool as much. It's in contact with the cooler air, but it's going to retain its heat mostly no?

2- Make millions.

Seriously, I think this super simple idea would work with basically a regular syringe with eye drops in it, just a little screw on cover on the end. Compress it, release it, unscrew it and drop it in your eyes.

But again, does anybody really care if the eyedrops are cold? I don't know. Like I said, don't use them.
-- doctorremulac3, Oct 19 2023



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