Pitot tube

Aircraft use pitot tubes to measure airspeed. This example, from an Airbus A380, combines a pitot tube (right) with a static port and an angle-of-attack vane (left). Air-flow is right to left.
Types of pitot tubes
A pitot-static tube connected to a manometer
Pitot tube on Kamov Ka-26 helicopter
A Formula One car during testing with frames holding many pitot tubes
Location of pitot tubes on a Boeing 777

A pitot tube (/ˈpiːtoʊ/ PEE-toh; also pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by French engineer Henri Pitot in the early 18th century,[1] and modified to its modern form in the mid-19th century by Henry Darcy.[2] It is widely used to determine the airspeed of aircraft;[3] the water speed of boats; and the flow velocity of liquids, air, and gases in industry.

  1. ^ Pitot, Henri (1732). "Description d'une machine pour mesurer la vitesse des eaux courantes et le sillage des vaisseaux" (PDF). Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences avec les mémoires de mathématique et de physique tirés des registres de cette Académie: 363–376. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  2. ^ Darcy, Henry (1858). "Note relative à quelques modifications à introduire dans le tube de Pitot" (PDF). Annales des Ponts et Chaussées: 351–359. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  3. ^ Venturi effect and Pitot tubes | Fluids | Physics | Khan Academy, September 2014, retrieved 2019-12-15