How do chocolate fountains flow?
An ancient principle is the key to this decadent way of enjoying chocolate.
Chocolate fountains use a mechanism known as the Archimedes’ screw to transfer liquid chocolate to a higher plane. To melt the chocolate a heating element is positioned within the base of the device, below a metal bowl that acts like a reservoir for the liquid chocolate. Once melted, the chocolate is drawn into a hollow cylinder that extends upwards from the bowl.
Click on the image to see how a chocolate fountain works in more detail
Inside the cylinder is a helical threaded screw mechanism powered by a small motor. The motor turns the screw, enabling liquid to be transferred from the bottom up along the screw until it reaches the top. When the liquid arrives at the summit of the pipe it empties out over a series of tiers – usually two or three – before cascading as a uniform chocolate curtain back down into the bowl below where the whole process can begin again.
Written by the How It Works team
Discover more tasty tech in the latest issue of How It Works. It’s available from all good retailers, or you can order it online from the ImagineShop. If you have a tablet or smartphone, you can also download the digital version onto your iOS or Android device. To make sure you never miss an issue of How It Works, make sure you subscribe today!
You may also like:
