Here's a close-up profile of a small, disposable plastic communion cup. Notice how the sides taper? They slope outward from the bottom to within about a quarter inch of the top, and then flare outward like a trumpet bell.
Or, that perhaps the shape had some religious significance?
Today I learned that the shape of small communion cups is a very practical one, serving several important purposes.
First, the taper allows the cup to be held securely in a communion tray that deacons and elders may carry among the congregation while serving communion. If the holes in the tray are sized appropriately, the cup will rest snugly while still being easy to remove.
Second, the flare at the top makes it relatively easy for parishioners to grasp and lift the cup out of the tray as it is passed.
Third, the shape is more aesthetically pleasing than a simple cylindrical cup.
In the interest of not spilling the communion wine while it is being passed among the congregation, this shape makes it possible for the communion tray to be tilted at considerable angles while being passed without any danger of spillage.
Now, we'll switch to a perspective view, with the cups still level.
As the cups are tilted to the right, the cross-section of each cup in contact with the wine becomes larger, the wine now filling an ellipse. Consequently, the wine spreads out into an area having a larger volume.
The effect is, of course, the same. Because the wine spreads into a larger volume, it is possible to tilt the communion tray as much as thirty degrees or more - assuming the cups were initially filled with a uniform measuring device - without spilling the wine.
Were we to try this with cylindrical cups of equivalent size, filled to within the same distance of the top, we would no doubt spill the wine at a much smaller tilt angle.
Who would have thought there was science behind the design of something like disposable communion cups?
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