Today We Learned: Baffles Inside a Fuel Tanker Make it Stop up to 25 Feet Sooner

In this world, let’s just say that there are a lot of things that aren’t exactly as they seem. When taking a look around the room, most people will probably notice a variety of basic things. Perhaps, it’s the whiteboard on the wall or maybe the filing cabinet across the room. These objects are typically ones that blend into the background as things that we don’t give much thought to.

Sure, these are pretty basic items that we see every day. However, while the extent of our interaction with such things might be installing them in a room, there are other folks who have spent a lot more time on them. When it comes to basically any item that can be purchased, there has been some consideration of cost and efficiency.

For example, the whiteboard that we mentioned might be able to be made for a couple of cents cheaper with one method versus another. This isn’t something that the end-user will likely think about but it’s something that could make a huge difference for the person selling the whiteboard.

When we apply this to literally anything that we come in contact with, it leads us to wonder what engineers were thinking with different applications.

This time, we’re greeted with something that most people who drive probably see regularly. However, not too many have thought about the inside design of a tanker created to haul liquid.

Outside, it might just look like a cylindrical tube. However, inside, certain tankers might have baffles that could really save them a lot of heartache and headache alike. Below, we check out a visualization of these baffles that could save fuel, shorten stopping distances, and even decrease stress on tanker walls.

At the end of the day, we never know what we might find when browsing the “Today I learned” section of Reddit.