What this mug does is heat your coffee (or tea) while it's sitting in your mug. You could leave it for hours and come back later to still enjoy a nice hot cup of "Joe".

The mug has small solar panels around the outside when, left in a sunny area, will keep the mug at the desired temperature that you like your coffee. You could even charge up your mug during the day and then still be able to use it at night when you and a loved one (or dog) are sitting back and watching your favourite soap opera's.
-- amazing, Jul 26 2002

I'd like to say "good idea" but my old physics lessons are saying "Can't see it making enough heat".

<frowning> I think it takes about 70KJ of heat energy to change temperature of a mug water from 30C to 100C. PV cells produce a couple of watts each. I'm not going to wrack my brains for conversions and actually fitting these facts together into an argument..I'm just going to look sceptical </frowning>
-- Jinbish, Jul 26 2002


Depending on the resident climate and time of year, I'll take the solar cooling version please.
-- dag, Jul 26 2002


Maybe if you hook up the coffee in the cup with tubes to a solar "water" heater on the roof?
-- FarmerJohn, Jul 26 2002


[unabubba] Isn't spec heat cap...4190 J/ kg.K? Anyway....point still same in my opinion, to generate the electrical power to heat the water (through an inefficient heating element) there will have to be a much larger surface area of PV cells than you can fit on a mug.
-- Jinbish, Jul 26 2002


I'm with Jinbish on this one, but it's Friday afternoon and I can't be bothered to do the maths. </frowning and scowling>.
-- Mayfly, Jul 26 2002


Why bother with the conversion at all? Just get a glass coffee mug.
-- phoenix, Jul 26 2002


But remember, the coffee is already hot when put in the mug. All this device does is just keep it warm for ages. so that you can leave the coffee for a couple of hours and it will be still as hot and fresh (well not really fresh) as it was when you first poured.
-- amazing, Jul 28 2002


get a thermos.
-- yamahito, Jul 28 2002


your mistake [amazing] was to say "heat your coffee" - if you had said *keep* your coffee hot, we would not have got into this maze. only problem is: the sun rarely reaches my little office.
-- po, Jul 28 2002


There we go, i changed it from to keep at desired temperature. I think it's better, think......
-- amazing, Jul 29 2002


UnaBubba's sight is failing him in his old age, methinks...
-- yamahito, Jul 29 2002


My coffee never has a chance to get cold.
-- waugsqueke, Jul 29 2002


Hmm, the most efficient solar absorbtion transducer would be... Why not just paint it black?
-- FloridaManatee, Dec 30 2002



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