Scientists at the University of Waterloo in Canada have solved a notorious problem: they developed the optimal shape of a urinal. With a surprising solution.
Urinals, also called urinals, provide relief for human needs. But they are also a nuisance. Especially for cleaning staff who have to deal with certain legacies.
And even if these facilities are not a topic of excitement: they hang hundreds of thousands of times in restaurants and train stations, in subway stations and sports halls. Worldwide. Therefore, the question of their optimal design is of great importance.
Elongated shapes are advantageous for urinals because they reduce the splashing effect. This is what experts from the University of Waterloo found out, as the Austrian daily newspaper “Der Standard” reports.
Because by no means all users do their business accurately. That’s why some pubs have installed miniature plastic football goals in the middle of their urinals. They should animate the users to the exact meeting. Not just the football fans among them.
Such gadgets can probably alleviate the known problems, but the experts from the Canadian city of Waterloo wanted to know: How does a urinal have to be shaped so that it optimally meets hygiene requirements? In other words: that it allows as little spatter as possible.
The researchers approached the problem using classical physics: they looked for the optimal angle of incidence of the urine stream. Among other things, they based their findings on the urination of dogs, as the report states. The animals instinctively know how to do it. And raise her leg at a 30 degree angle.
This, of course, cannot be the solution to human problems. Instead, with the help of computer simulations, the researchers designed optimized urinal models and subjected them to practical tests. The surprising solution – for physical laypeople: A urinal that is based on the shape of the Nautilus massively reduces the unwanted splashing effect.
Nautilus? It is a marine creature whose photos everyone has surely seen before. The researchers from Waterloo found out that a urinal must be shaped like this so that it best suits its main purpose.
If you hope to find such models in everyday life soon, you have to be patient. The development of spray-optimized urinals is still in its infancy. But the researchers are probably on the right track.
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