Design a swirly straw so that it forms a cube shaped region near the top, big enough to hold an ice cube or two.

The ice cube(s) chill the part of the straw around them.

As you drink, the liquid moves around the chilled straw, and gets colder.

Designed right, the melting water from the ice will drip away from the drink, without diluting it.
-- goldbb, Apr 08 2009

is this what you mean?? http://www.patricia...eprincess_large.jpg
[xandram, Apr 09 2009]

you can make frozen straws... http://www.instruct...F2FRVHIB.MEDIUM.jpg
[xandram, Apr 09 2009]

one more http://www.lataz.co...oduct/C/S/CSIP4.jpg
[xandram, Apr 09 2009]

[+] on-demand cooling; if you left your drink for a few minutes it wouldn't be any more diluted when you came back (need a little button on the side of the straw to close the icewater drain-plug when you take a sip... or possibly vacuum operated)
-- FlyingToaster, Apr 09 2009


//Part of the cooling effect of ice is caused by heat exchange.// you think only part?

double walled straws and parallel streams would eliminate dilution and maintain heat exchange.
-- daseva, Apr 09 2009


//Dilution is, unfortunately, necessary.// Not strictly relevant to this idea, but I've seen "ice cubes" that are cubes of closed plastic, with some kind of liquid inside. These are frozen like normal ice cubes, and the liquid melts to cool the drink, but no dilution occurs.
-- dbmag9, Apr 10 2009


Imagine straw looks like large spring (diameter of 2 cm, height of about 20 cm) with a straight end on either side. Straw comes with container in which you add water and straw. Place in freezer. Once water has frozen, you get one large block of ice with straw inside-- only with ends sticking out. This increases the amount of time liquid passing through straw in in contact with ice and spring like straw supports ice well (obviously on inside of straw, there are bars running across diameter of spring).

Straw is made of a material wx is a good conductor of heat and perhaps partially permeable.

An alternate design would be to have ice out of glass and a sort of boiled egg holder separating ice and juice-- this reduces dilution.
-- danman, Jun 01 2009


Cancel PPM, conc. gradient will not work in our favour.
-- danman, Jun 01 2009



random, halfbakery