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Science lesson: Is there a compressible liquid?

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
I was reading James Huang's (The Angry Asian) review of a new fork technology, and he wrote how dampers work "by forcing a non-compressible viscous fluid through small ports".

Is there any liquids that are compressible?
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,394
20,184
Sleazattle
I reckon the defined difference between a liquid and a gas is liquid is a non compressible fluid while a gas is a compressible fluid.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,394
20,184
Sleazattle
Isn't liquid a compressed gas? Typically compressed by temperature?

You can not compress a gas by temperature. Every fluid has a melting/freezing point that depends the temperature. Easiest example is the boiling point of water changes with elevation(atmospheric pressure). A pressure cooker raises the boiling point by increasing the pressure.
 

Kihaji

Norman Einstein
Jan 18, 2004
398
0
Liquids aren't very compressable, as the molecules of them are already packed together pretty tight. Some liquids might exhibit some sense of compressibility because of "looser" molecules though.
 

Reactor

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2005
3,976
1
Chandler, AZ, USA
are all liquids compressible to some extent?
Yes. to an extent.

Part of the function of a pressurizer on an pressurized non-boiling water power plant to provide a surge area for changes in plant volume due to changes in temperature and pressure. For the other functions read the TMI accident analysis report subtitled "So you want to melt your powerplant today "