De-Ice questions

[Nexus]

Yeah and air is a FLUID, what is your point?
It is still not filled with a liquid substance that freezes

[BiggBaddWolf]

Well from what I remember from science class air is a GAS....

[Nexus]

Sigh...Air might be a gas, but it SHARES the same charasteristics as a fluid, hence it is technically refered to as a fluid.

Copied from an online dictionary:
"Fluid= (technical) that can flow freely, as gases and liquids do: a fluid consistency "

http://www.oup.com/elt/oald/

[Chris_F]

Well from what I remember from science class air is a GAS....

Fluid is a generic term for a material which will flow, i.e. anything except a solid.  Gases, liquids, and plasmas are all fluids.

See the following for a description of how a pitot tube works:

http://travel.howstuffworks.com/question597.htm

[BiggBaddWolf]

Well I think if I were inhaling fluids into my lungs, and not air which is a gas, I would drown very shortly  :o

Also had you checked your dictionary a little closer you would have found the correct spelling is "referred" :-/

[Nexus]

english is not my 1st language, and to pick on spelling mistakes is not the issue here

[BiggBaddWolf]

You are so right .......sorry

[Billerator]

A pitot tube is still just a tube with no liquid in it, honestly.

[Chris_F]

Look up "fluid" at dictionary.com

"A continuous, amorphous substance whose molecules move freely past one another and that has the tendency to assume the shape of its container; a liquid or gas"

In engineer-speak (the physicists in the room will disagree) a gas is a compressable fluid, a liquid is a non-compressable fluid.  You've had fluid in your lungs since the day you were born (as have I).  If you ever encounter a circumstance where there are no fluids in your lung (for example, if you're sucked in to the vacuum of space) you will be a very unhappy person.

It seems to me like you looked up the definition of pitot tube, saw that it was a device for measuring fluid flow velocity and was filled with fluid, and assumed the definition of "fluid" was "liquid".  It's a simple mistake.  I don't understand why you're willing to look up and trust the definition of pitot tube but aren't willing to look up or trust the definition of "fluid".  

Please see my link to "how stuff works" which describes the function of the pitot tube.  If you need further knowledge on the subject I'd be happy to provide insight in to the device as I have a pretty intimate knowledge of their function.

[Chris_F]

A pitot tube is still just a tube with no liquid in it, honestly.

Not all the time.  When you use a pitot tube to measure the flow velocity of water the tube will indeed have liquid in it.  The device, as found in an airplace and properly functioning, will have no liquid in it.   Just like to pick nits sometimes...  

[codered]

Well I think Iggy knows more about Pitot Tubes, air being a liquid and a gas, having in your lungs, than they bargined for.

[JBaymore]

Amen to that  ;).

best,

..................john

[elkinallen]

Wow!!  This was fun reading this!!!

My 2 cents:  Fluid dynamics is what allows an aircraft to fly.  It causes icing above freezing temps too!

The pitot ices due to Bernoullies: 'As the velocity of a fluid increases, it's pressure decreases'.  For the purpose of Aviation, Air is a fluid.  When air's pressure is decreased, so is it's temperature.

The pito will collect condensation, rain, etc. It will then freeze in the right conditions.

Why will it freeze and other things won't?   Because it is a small sharp object that allows the air to  QUICKLY zoom around it.  Zooming air has less of a pressure #.  
This is why wingtip, prop tip etc show 'vortices' before other surfaces.

[codered]

I just did a flight in major icing conditions and I did not turn on the pitot heat nor the carb heat.  My aircraft iced up pretty well, and it took all it could to get it to the airport.  FS9 does simulate icing after.  Just a little test.

[Politically Incorrect]

Well it can be looked at like this. If air was 100% oxygen(which it isn't, about 78% nitrogen and 21%) then it would be a gas, but you add hydrogen it turns into water so in sense when you have high moisture in your little pitot tube it is then filled with a liquid, which in certain temperatures will freeze then cause instrument failure and impending doom  ;D

This reminds me of the argument: Mercury the only liquid that isn't a liquid............
Denpending on who you ask some will say it is a metal, some a liquid.

So in all in all no-one here is really wrong

Now Which came first the chicken or the egg??