“Hot” coffee cup

Factual Questions
1

In the 1950s, the public narrative by government and industry, “peaceful uses” of atomic power were going to make all of our lives easier. Dredging harbors, nuking the Moon, electricity “too cheap to meter”. None of that happened, but I’m not bitter. Well maybe a little…

We tend to call using a microwave oven “nuking” our food, but that isn’t really accurate. I got to thinking, a common use at least for me is re-heating coffee or tea in a cup.

What I really need, then, is a coffee cup that doesn’t cool down in the first place. Ever.

Is there a suitable isotope that could be incorporated into a cup, say a nice half life of 20+ years, and yet benign enough not to poison the user? It would be most excellent to never make the arduous trek to the microwave again. Alternatively, a Permsnent Thermos would be an acceptable substitute and maybe more technically feasible.

2

Yeti.

3

That doesn’t sound very radioactive

4

They work. Without the danger of radioactive problems.

5

I know I’m in trouble :expressionless:

6

You need something like this, but smaller.

7

True, though even a well-insulated mug is just going to slow down the cooling, not effectively stop it (which is what the OP is really seeking).

It sounds like they would like a mug that can keep a hot beverage at that temperature for an indefinite period, without being toxically radioactive; I’m not sure that such a unicorn exists.

8

If my aunt had balls, she’d be my uncle. I’m just curious if this were technically possible. I realize there are many ways to keep our beverages warm.

9

On the one hand, it wouldn’t be too hard to find a suitable alpha emitter, and make sure all of the material was thoroughly encased by the ceramic. Alpha particles are stopped by almost anything (giving up their energy to heat in the process), so it wouldn’t directly irradiate you.

On the other hand, all those alphas are likely to produce a bunch of secondary radiation, at least some of which is going to be gamma, which will basically ignore a few millimeters of ceramic.

And on the gripping hand, you can’t really adjust a source like this to account for different fluid levels. When it’s full of water, heat will escape it much more easily than when it’s empty, and so if it can sustain a full cup of liquid at appropriate temperature, then when it’s dry and just sitting in your cupboard, it’ll get much hotter, possibly dangerously so.

10

I promise you they work. Coffee at temp will still be at temp 8 hours later.
I’ve had ice remain ice for a day or more.

11

And, I imagine, less likely to cause radiation poisoning if the casing develops a crack:

12

Yes! This shows promise. Heathkit really dropped the ball on this, I think. Strontium 90 it is? Would fit right in with the thread on Shop Class projects.

13

It needs to be Dishwasher Safe, definitely.

14

Dude. Give it up. This is a thought exercise. Mental masturbation. Thanks for playing, though.

15

The OP didn’t specify that the solution had to be a sane one.

16

Lead? I’m confident the technical hurdles can be surmounted!

17

I’m not absolutely wedded to the notion of a decaying radioactive isotope coffee cup, but it seems the best or most lotical solution to this vexing problem. It would be optimal that the product not kill the operator, which presumably would impact sales, or possibly invite a certain level of scrutiny by various meddlesome regulatory agencies.

18

It’s Plutonium-238 you want. Alpha emitter, easy to shield. 87.7 year half life. About a thousand watts IIRC for a kilogram, which is not a big mug as the stuff’s quite dense.

19

A thousand watts is a lot more than you’d want, anyway.

20

Surely a tiny microwave device could be built into the bottom of a mug. Maybe USB
powered/chargeable. Obviously would need some sort of lid during the heating process.