Pythagorean cup

The Pythagorean cup (also known as a mug of justice ) is a type of drinking vessel, which forces the user to only moderate drinking. Thanks to Pythagoras of Samos attributed construction of the cup allows its user to fill it with wine up to a certain height. When the user fills the cup only up to that amount, he can enjoy his drink in peace. Is it, however, greedy and still pours more, then runs the entire contents of the cup below ( the intention is: on the lap of the greedy drinker ). With this mug, it is, Pythagoras wanted to teach greedy people modesty.

Form and function

A Pythagorean cup looks like a normal drinking vessel, except that the vessel has a center column. This sits directly over the shaft and over the hole at the foot of the shaft. A small open tube runs from this hole almost to the top of the center column, where an open chamber is located. This chamber is connected to a second tube, which leads to the bottom of the center column, where an opening in the column the content of the cup gets involved.

When the cup is filled, the liquid rises through the second tube high up into the chamber in the top of the center column, according to Pascal's principle of communicating vessels. As long as the liquid does not rise higher than the level of the chamber, the cup is operating normally. Once you pour in more, the entire contents of the cup pours through the first tube and runs down from after the siphon principle.

History

According to legend, Pythagoras ' invention in the construction work has been used in the water supply of the island of Samos, which he had planned and their execution, he oversaw. He cared about the great wine consumption of the workers. On the island of Samos, the cup is called Dikea Koupa ( Δίκαια Κούπα του Πυθαγόρα ), and also sold as souvenirs.

As Tantalus - cup of cup at Heron of Alexandria (60 BC) described.

The principle has been used for centuries in Greece to fill wine barrels in higher-lying vessels.

In toy stores a version of the mug is sometimes sold as a joke article.