By Lucy Kinder
The invention of the microwave revolutionised cooking but now a ‘reverse-microwave’ does the opposite, it can chill a drink in 45 seconds. Up until now there has not been a gadget available to cool items without a long wait.
A new system can cool drinks, including wine bottles and fizzy drink cans, from room temperature to four degrees in a matter of seconds. The unit can cool drinks in all types of containers to different temperatures without disturbing the carbonation.
The technology, which has been developed with the help of research funding from the EU, works on the basis of a cooling vortex which spins the drink round.
It uses a stop start rotational sequence to create what is known as a Rankine vortex- which is a collapsed vortex in a viscous fluid.
This enables the drinks to mix without fizzing.
The beverage is rotated at speed around twin axes in water to keep it in its original state while quickly bringing down its temperature.