I filled up my truck yesterday and it cost me almost 3.29 a gallon which is shocking since I put $5 in last week at about 3.10 a gallon. The nation’s gas prices are rising pretty high and are projected to be around $5.00 during the summer time. My professor even told my class that Apple has created a phone app that allows you to find where the cheapest gas is.
At this point a lot of people are wondering how they can get cheaper gas. The answer to that question is to study mechanical engineering. As a mechanical engineer in the fluid mechanics class you do learn about the phenomenon of siphoning gas.
Warning: Siphoning Gas is extremely Illegal and Very Dangerous. Don’t be stupid, Pay for your gas.
Ok just kidding about the siphoning gas, but even though siphoning gas is illegal, the process of siphoning has a lot of scientific and engineering aspects behind it. To explain siphoning in the simplest manner, siphoning is the process of moving fluid from a higher area to a lower one by creating a pressure difference. The pressure difference causes the fluid to move up the tube to balance the pressure. Gravity then pulls the fluid down to an area of lower height.
Siphoning is an interesting study and actually has a lot of common applications including its use in toilets to flush. In fact a few weeks ago one of my professors had us pour water down a toilet to measure and observe how siphoning works in toilets. As a mechanical engineer you do study a broad number of topics including structure analysis, heating and cooling systems, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and much more.
So in regards to getting cheaper gas as a mechanical engineer the best alternative is to try and break the first two laws of thermodynamics and not criminal law in siphoning gas. I’ll explain it to you next time.
Fight the Good Fight (and Don’t Steal Gas)
Ya Boy Archie Wright!
