I'm not massively knowledgeable on the physics of pneumatics, but I thought I'd share a rather interesting effect that I come across quite often as a means to safely regulate airflow in industrial equipment.
Enter Giovanni Battista Venturi.
He was an Italian physicist and diplomat who studied fluid mechanics (of which the effect still applies). The effect works so well in the industrial pneumatics equipment I've come across because it allows blockages to occur while still leaving the main compressors to have free airflow and not burning out the motor and also providing suction to other areas of the machine. Although (in some cases) not as efficient, it does allow mechanically simple control of airflow with fail safes.
If one of the spurs of a piece of equipment gets blocked the pressure remains relatively consistent throughout the run. It's a simple principle often overlooked in industrial applications. From fuel injectors to wind instruments, it amazes me the relative simplicity and reliability of the Venturi effect and its many applications.
So today I doff my hat to a great engineer of fluid mechanics.
Yours, The Enginer'd
