Really stupid science question...

Mr. Coffee · Post by **Mr. Coffee** » 2005-12-21 07:57pm

This is comepletely stupid, but I got to know...

Guys, ever notice that sometime when you take a leak you get bubbles when it hit's the water and sometimes it doesn't? What I mean is when the stream of piss hit's the water sometimes you get something like beer foam forming on the water. Most times you don't though.

What causes that piss foam?

Kwizard · Post by **Kwizard** » 2005-12-21 08:06pm

The piss is moving fast enough to bring air down with it. The stream of piss creates air friction and some of the air gets pushed down into the body of water below. At least that's the best explanation I can come up with.

Thanks for asking though, it's an interesting question.

Zero · Post by **Zero** » 2005-12-21 08:07pm

I always get foam when I piss. Am I dying?

Kwizard · Post by **Kwizard** » 2005-12-21 08:09pm

Well, if it's like frothy, spongy foam you're either emptying that bladder really fast or.. something's wrong.

wilfulton · Post by **wilfulton** » 2005-12-21 08:28pm

Kwizard wrote:Well, if it's like frothy, spongy foam you're either emptying that bladder really fast or.. something's wrong.

A condition like that would probably be the result of a hole in the urinary tract. It is actually possible to get air bubbles in there, this actually happened to someone I know who caught some shrapnel from an IED in Iraq. While he did recover mostly intact, he did have some harrowing moments afterward.

Losonti Tokash · Post by **Losonti Tokash** » 2005-12-21 08:29pm

Oh, so it's not from drinking too many carbonated drinks? What a relief.

Kwizard · Post by **Kwizard** » 2005-12-21 08:45pm

wilfulton wrote:
Kwizard wrote:Well, if it's like frothy, spongy foam you're either emptying that bladder really fast or.. something's wrong.
A condition like that would probably be the result of a hole in the urinary tract. It is actually possible to get air bubbles in there, this actually happened to someone I know who caught some shrapnel from an IED in Iraq. While he did recover mostly intact, he did have some harrowing moments afterward.

Ouch... shrapnel... *tries not to think about it*

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2005-12-21 10:03pm

I always thought the foam was extra jizz in the pipe being flushed out >.>'

tharkûn · Post by **tharkûn** » 2005-12-21 11:45pm

Urine has lower surface tension than water (exact amount depends on diet), adding it vigoriously to water will result in bubbles. The mechanics here should be the same as with soap, just scaled down a bit. Excessively frothy urine might be a sign of jaundice as the bile present will further lower surface tension (one of the tests for jaundice utilizes this property).

Magnetic · Post by **Magnetic** » 2005-12-22 10:19am

I've always wondered why we can't poot through our pee hole.

. . . . .okay, nevermind.

Winston Blake · Post by **Winston Blake** » 2005-12-24 12:34am

Zero132132 wrote:I always get foam when I piss. Am I dying?

Yes. Well, either that or your toilet has one of those soap-freshener things under the rim and leaves some soap in the water after every flush.