Pouring is the act of tilting an open

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

which has liquid or bulk flowable solid inside of it, to cause the contents to flow out of the container under the influence of gravity. This may be done to move the contents to another container (such as pouring a shared

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

from a bottle into individual cups), to coat a surface with the contents (as in pouring a

syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...

onto solid food, or the artistic technique of paint pouring), or simply to empty the original container.

Physical aspects

Depending on context, these changes may be desirable or undesirable. For example, in the preparation of Malaysian-style 'pulled tea', the brewed tea mixed with milk is poured back and forth between two containers at an increasing distance in order to create a

foam Foams are two-phase materials science, material systems where a gas is dispersed in a second, non-gaseous material, specifically, in which gas cells are enclosed by a distinct liquid or solid material. Note, this source focuses only on liquid ...

and to cool the tea. In contrast, in industrial processes such as

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or ...

where a molten metal is poured into a mould, the pouring process can induce the creation of bifilms (doubly-oxidated surfaces folded over on each other) which lead to further defects in the final cast part. The difficulty of controlling all the variables when pouring purely by hand, along with the potential danger to people in the vicinity from splashing of hot liquid, has led to the development of automated pouring equipment for use in industrial settings. There has also been research in

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

to develop robots which can pour drinks and granular ingredients such as sugar. Systems for pouring face unique difficulties compared to other cases of robots manipulating physical objects: contact

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

s cannot be attached directly to liquids, so measuring parameters of pouring, such as vibration and the amount of liquid which has been poured, may require the use of

computer vision Computer vision tasks include methods for image sensor, acquiring, Image processing, processing, Image analysis, analyzing, and understanding digital images, and extraction of high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical ...

techniques.

Cultural aspects

The metaphor of "pouring prayers" appears in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, and

Ancient Greek poetry Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, ar ...

, in reference to the literal pouring out of a drink onto the ground or over an icon as an offering in a

libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an Sacrifice, offering to a deity or spirit, or in Veneration of the dead, memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of Ancient history, antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures t ...

References

Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{cite journal , url=https://www.fujipress.jp/jrm/rb/robot003400050965/ , first1=Hairui , last1=Zhu , first2=Yuji , last2=Yamakawa , title=Robotic Pouring Based on Real-Time Observation and Visual Feedback by a High-Speed Vision System , journal=Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics , date=2022 , volume=34 , issue=5 , pages=965–974 , doi=10.20965/jrm.2022.p0965, doi-access=free Fluid mechanics

Physical aspects

Cultural aspects

See also

References

Works cited