Re:‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty
by Cerium on Tuesday April 19, 2022 @03:09PM
(#31087483)
Only one chopstick appears to have an electrode, while the wristband looks like a ground contact. This device looks like it makes a circuit from the chopsticks, through your mouth and body to your arm.
Re:‘Electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty
by cogman10 on Tuesday April 19, 2022 @04:17PM
(#31088435)
Yup, the "sodium ion" thing sounds like BS. Almost certainly this thing, if it does anything, is merely shocking the tongue at a voltage/current that's high enough to be detected, low enough that you don't know you are being shocked.
Whether or not that "confuses" you into thinking this is salty, IDK.
Manipulating ions requires a lot of current. Drop an AA battery to a soup and nothing remarkable happens quickly, but lick the same battery and you will definitely feel it immediately.
If you do it while something sour/salty is in your mouth, your tongue may get confused, since it's only prepared to detect 5 flavors plus hot and cold, and it may simply assigns the extra feeling to the strongest sour/salty/umami taste currently experienced.
The electronics is probably just to cut the current when the two chopsticks touch to prevent short circuit.
There are similar articles from a few years ago, like this: https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a15702/simulatin...