this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

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If you were to make a wireless shower head, would it have hydrogen molecules and suck in the oxygen from the air to create water? Would you have to recharge it with hydrogen?

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[–] [email protected] 84 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

Was this a thought you had in the shower, or a thought you had about showers?

Also, the pipe carrying water to the showerhead isn't a wire or cord, and therefore every showerhead is wireless.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago

I just had that thought 10 minutes ago while showering, so both

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

You know very well what he means lol

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Ibwas about to dislike (not downvote) this one, but after a second of thought, this is great. Because it doesn't make practical sense, but at least isn't something based in a fault of understanding of the real world, so good job

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

isn’t something based in a fault of understanding of the real world

You don't think the idea of a "wireless" shower head is based on a fault of understanding? It's stupid as fuck.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's an intertaining experiment though.

Some other showerthought show less curiousity but being misinformed.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's an intertaining experiment though.

an intertaining experiment

intertaining

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

A wireless showerhead is clearly impossible... if you don't have a machine that works on very little energy and somehow was able to store enough hydrogen while also sucking in oxygen to make water

Say we had technology so efficient to make thus process possible, to make 1 liter of water (1 kg) you just need 1/9 of a kg of hydrogen, so if your showehead stored 1 kg of hydrogen in an extremely enclosed space, you could "pull 9 liters of water out of the air

Even if this device was possible, it would be extremely impractical, and would probably suffocate you by sucking all the o2 out of the air if you are in an enclosed space

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

H2 and O2 tanks big enough for an entire shower would be quite bulky, especially because you'd still need to combine them quick enough to produce a steady stream of water but slow enough to not just burn the flesh off your bones (it's rocket fuel after all).

If you use fuel cells as a "reactor" you could power your house with the shower, though.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (1 children)

On a scale of 1 to Yes, how high are you?

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[–] octoperson 31 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

They didn't say it showers you with water

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

showers don't have wires right now, so I'm confused.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

OP, what kind of wires does your shower have?

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago

My wireless shower head does’t use hydrogen, it just uses a hose to supply the water. No wires though.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

to achieve significantly better density in the fuel tank, it is better to pre-react your hydrogen with oxygen. That way you can store your fuel as a liquid at room temperature, instead of a gas.

or in other words, just attach a water balloon to it

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

It might not be a good idea to create a device that sucks all the oxygen out of an enclosed space meant for a human during operation 💀

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is not your original shower thought, this is the same shower thought had by Max Pruss, captain of the LZ 129 Hindenburg.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm sorry, I don't know who that is. I've never heard of him.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

Neither do I, but the Hindenburg famously exploded while being filled with hydrogen.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I thought the* joke was funny.

Edit: originally thought I was replying to the joke's OP.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

man, I hate it when I'm tired after a long day at work and I take a long, hot shower, because if I let my mind wander and stay in the shower just a little bit too long i fucking suffocate

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'd just make it as a joke and you have to refill the head with water every time you use it and it only holds about 2 cups. It'd be like a squirt gun, but in the shape of a shower head.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've already got a wireless shower head. It just uses pipes and water.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It would just have a non-removable refillable dihydrogen monoxide battery like all modern wireless devices.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (3 children)

But didydrogen monoxide is also known as hydroxyl acid, and the major component of acid rain.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

i think you're on the cusp on creating the next fad in the wellness industry - find a way to legally call it that and suddenly its flying off the shelves. "it's so safe you can DRINK it!"

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

I have engineered a solution for exactly this, believe it or not.

The shower system consists of carbon doped ferrous material coated with a zinc passivation agent. There is a flow control subsystem made of a Cu-Zn alloy which also causes aerosolization of the hydrogen-oxygen payload. The hydrogen-oxygen mixture is pre-processed in a large volume nitrogen container, and precipitated down to the shower system using a combination of thermal effects and manipulation of ambient pressure.

Works really well, only limitation is the amount of precipitate available.

In other words, it's a metal rain bucket with a faucet.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The act of oxygenating hydrogen is massively volatile and releases a bunch of energy. You could power a large truck with the energy that would be produced when you make barely a trickle of water.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So you're saying...free water heater!

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You know that hydrogen and oxygen burn explosively?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

So... A hot shower? With no shortage of water pressure..?

/s

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Best shower thought I've seen in a while.

[–] wasney 8 points 1 year ago

I imagine a wireless shower head could just be a squirt gun type deal with a shower head on the end.

Or, to stay close to your example, why not two canisters, Hydrogen and Oxygen. Then you're not sucking all the oxygen in the room.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The entire showerthought must be in the title

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

(Hope) I fixed it

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

As others have mentioned, pure hydrogen and pure oxygen are both quite flammable. It would be very expensive to extract/filter only the oxygen out of the air while staying portable, but I think we may need to go for a tank-storage design anyways.

I think you’re better off using hydrogen peroxide from a tank (maybe even a backpack?) and breaking that down into water and oxygen (o2)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hidrogen peroxide? That means your wireless shower will be heavier than if it's actually store plain old water instead.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

If you look in the image above "Showerthoughts," that yellow bulb shape is where you would store the hydrogen.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Hydrogen and oxygen burn explosively. It wouldn't last long

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

This would make an excellent troll physics comic strip!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

You could just get moisture from the air but that'll probably take quite a long time

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

That would be an atypical rocket, but it checks out.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I guess it would be like a dehumidifier. It sucks existing water vapor out of the air.

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