Edible oil is available in plastic cans. We buy it in cans of capacity of 5 L. We transfer a small quantity at a time from that can to a small container, and replenish its contents as required. A problem with this system is that the oil pours out in an unruly manner. That makes the process messy, and wastes a bit of the oil too.
"See if you can fix this problem" my wife told me. I was home because I was on Diwali vacation. I was glad to have something to do. I had known the problem, having carried out the procedure myself once. I thought about it a bit, and realized that the oil poured out of the can creating a sort of empty space inside the can. The can had to suck in air before it could pour out more oil. That produced a very turbulent flow, waxing and waning, and spilling out in different directions with time. There had to be an inlet for air, so that the oil would pour out in a smooth flow. I burned two small holes in the hollow handle of the can using a heated nail. The fixed oil can looked like this (arrow on the holes).
Then I tilted the mouth of the can over the small container. The oil poured out in an even stream, spilling not one drop outside the container. After filling the small container, I put a piece of adhesive tape over the holes, so that air and bacteria would not enter it.
"That was wonderful" my wife said with a broad smile. "How did you think of it?"
"I must have remembered laws flows of fluids from school or college physics" I said. For those who have not been able to visualize what I have described, I have put the illustration below. The left part shows the unruly spill, and the right part shows the smooth flow after fixing the oil can.
"See if you can fix this problem" my wife told me. I was home because I was on Diwali vacation. I was glad to have something to do. I had known the problem, having carried out the procedure myself once. I thought about it a bit, and realized that the oil poured out of the can creating a sort of empty space inside the can. The can had to suck in air before it could pour out more oil. That produced a very turbulent flow, waxing and waning, and spilling out in different directions with time. There had to be an inlet for air, so that the oil would pour out in a smooth flow. I burned two small holes in the hollow handle of the can using a heated nail. The fixed oil can looked like this (arrow on the holes).
"That was wonderful" my wife said with a broad smile. "How did you think of it?"
"I must have remembered laws flows of fluids from school or college physics" I said. For those who have not been able to visualize what I have described, I have put the illustration below. The left part shows the unruly spill, and the right part shows the smooth flow after fixing the oil can.
