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Old 07-16-2006 | 12:09 PM
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2slow2matter
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From: Springtown, TX
Default RE: Cool Fuel Temperature & Engine Performance??

People use fans because moving air will evaporate sweat off of our skins more efficiently than still air. Once again, evaporation is an endothermic process--leaving it's surroundings cooler. This is why we sweat--to keep our bodies cool. However, sweating when the humidity is much over 90 to 95 % is relatively ineffective because the ATM is unable to absorb much of the sweat off of your body, so it never evaporates, and therefore never cools you down. This is why we have developed heat indexes--the temperature that it feels like to the body--regardless of the actual kinetic energy in the air. With higher RH, less sweat is evaporated, and the body continues to heat up--dangerous situation. 110 degrees in 50% or less humidity is much safer than 98 degrees in 90% humidity, from a health standpoint because the body is simply unable to cool itself.
Sorry for the rambling....

Have you ever put a fan behind something hot--like a fire? It will simply blow hot air. This is how central heaters in homes operate. If moving air caused it to cool off, then central heaters wouldn't work.
Now, having said all of that, the velocity reached in the venturri's of our little engines makes for a negligible amount of heat increase. And, whatever increase there is is WAY offset by the cooling effect of the alcohol evaporating on it's way up the pipe. The cold air in the pipe (because of the evaporation) is what cools the pipe to below the dew point of the surrounding air. The higher the humidity outside, the more condensation you'll see on the pipe. Good observations, though. I really like the point about setting your beer down first--safety first, always!