4 ms·

My guess is it was explained as ‘pipes’ but in his head it got turned into tubes. It’s the same thing but because the argot is ‘pipes’ and not tubes he got rid

by mc32 3y ago

My guess is it was explained as ‘pipes’ but in his head it got turned into tubes. It’s the same thing but because the argot is ‘pipes’ and not tubes he got ridiculed.

paulddraper 3y ago
How does a tube differ from a pipe?
- mc32 3y ago
  In plumbing one is metallic the other can be either. In networking a pipe is a metaphor for a circuit. We have fat pipes into HQ. Saying you have fat tubes would seem odd.
  - paulddraper 3y ago
    IDK Home Depot sells PVC pipes
    - dredmorbius 3y ago
      As well as PEX and ABS.
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    In light of my earlier comment, tubes are structural, pipes are functional. That is, a tube has a through void, which doesn't describe wires or fibre (though one might argue that those have a metaphorical void relative to electric current or light pulses). A pipe however conveys a flow from one point to another. In that light, "fat pipes" makes more sense than "fat tubes". Though retro-rationalisation of linguistic evolution is a highly fraught endeavour.
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  Interesting question. Etymologically ... they're distinct (pipe derives from Latin *pipa, tube is of unknown origin), but the meanings are largely interchangeable. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/pipe https://www.etymonline.com/word/pipe> <https://www.etymonline.com/word/tube https://www.etymonline.com/word/tube> "Pipe" has an additional meaning of a musical instrument (which may be related to its origin). "Tube" tends to be used for larger structures, such as the London Underground Railroad, a/k/a "The Tube". It's also a reference (via cathode ray tube to television, which the Late Senator might have in mind. Even larger structures may be referred to as bores or tunnels. "Pipes", though, are more usually used as an alternative reference to network or Internet infrastructure. Which makes Stevens's description somewhat discordant. An out-of-tune piping, if you will.
  - mc32 3y ago
    So, looking into this: hoses -flexible, often higher pressure, usually round x-section. tubes -often like pipes but x-section can be of various geometries, round, square, oval, etc. often flexible. pipes - often rigid, often metal, round x-section.
    - dredmorbius 3y ago
      Hose derives from clothing -- "hose" were leg coverings, and in German, Hosen means "trousers". So a tube of cloth, or based around cloth (e.g., firehose). Garden hoses are typically fabricated from cloth and rubber or plastic. A few sources sugggest that tubes tend to be structural, where pipes tend to be functional. E.g., <https://www.appmfg.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-tubes-pipes-hoses https://www.appmfg.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-t...> (I suspect that's general trade copy as I'm finding it on several suppliers' sites.) A distinction that occurs to me is that both pipes and hoses may be high-pressure, though typically tubes are not. Pipes are often classified by the material used in fabrication: wood, copper, clay, steel. Hose is almost always flexible, and often used for temporary or mobile applications (air hose, fire hose, garden hose, dryer hose). Another related term is duct, which comes from Latin ducere, "to lead", which is what ducts do: they lead somewhere. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/duct https://www.etymonline.com/word/duct> I'm not sure that pipes must be circular or rounded, as "square pipe" is in fact a thing (though a minority thing). Another distinction between pipes and tubes is that pipes are specific to transport, that is, something flows through a pipe. A tube however describes a shape and there can be structural tubes, either hollow or filled, through which there is no flow. One example is sleeves used to form concrete support columns: these are tubes (often of paperboard), into which structural steel and cement mix are poured, resulting in solid, static columns. That's discussed here: <https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=455180 https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=455180> We also talk of "speaking tubes", which were used for communications, especially on ships or in factories. There are containers which are tubes, which hold and emit their contents, but contents don't flow through them, transiting end-to-end: toothpaste tube, tube of caulk, grease tube. Some animals have tubular bones, most notably birds. Putting this together, I'd argue that a tube is a general shape which may apply to a usually rigid pipe or a flexible hose, which are often used to duct fluids (gasses or liquids) from some source to a destination.

by mc32 3y ago

My guess is it was explained as ‘pipes’ but in his head it got turned into tubes. It’s the same thing but because the argot is ‘pipes’ and not tubes he got ridiculed.

paulddraper 3y ago

How does a tube differ from a pipe?

mc32 3y ago
In plumbing one is metallic the other can be either. In networking a pipe is a metaphor for a circuit. We have fat pipes into HQ. Saying you have fat tubes would seem odd.
- paulddraper 3y ago
  IDK Home Depot sells PVC pipes
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    As well as PEX and ABS.
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  In light of my earlier comment, tubes are structural, pipes are functional. That is, a tube has a through void, which doesn't describe wires or fibre (though one might argue that those have a metaphorical void relative to electric current or light pulses). A pipe however conveys a flow from one point to another. In that light, "fat pipes" makes more sense than "fat tubes". Though retro-rationalisation of linguistic evolution is a highly fraught endeavour.
dredmorbius 3y ago
Interesting question. Etymologically ... they're distinct (pipe derives from Latin *pipa, tube is of unknown origin), but the meanings are largely interchangeable. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/pipe https://www.etymonline.com/word/pipe> <https://www.etymonline.com/word/tube https://www.etymonline.com/word/tube> "Pipe" has an additional meaning of a musical instrument (which may be related to its origin). "Tube" tends to be used for larger structures, such as the London Underground Railroad, a/k/a "The Tube". It's also a reference (via cathode ray tube to television, which the Late Senator might have in mind. Even larger structures may be referred to as bores or tunnels. "Pipes", though, are more usually used as an alternative reference to network or Internet infrastructure. Which makes Stevens's description somewhat discordant. An out-of-tune piping, if you will.
- mc32 3y ago
  So, looking into this: hoses -flexible, often higher pressure, usually round x-section. tubes -often like pipes but x-section can be of various geometries, round, square, oval, etc. often flexible. pipes - often rigid, often metal, round x-section.
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    Hose derives from clothing -- "hose" were leg coverings, and in German, Hosen means "trousers". So a tube of cloth, or based around cloth (e.g., firehose). Garden hoses are typically fabricated from cloth and rubber or plastic. A few sources sugggest that tubes tend to be structural, where pipes tend to be functional. E.g., <https://www.appmfg.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-tubes-pipes-hoses https://www.appmfg.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-t...> (I suspect that's general trade copy as I'm finding it on several suppliers' sites.) A distinction that occurs to me is that both pipes and hoses may be high-pressure, though typically tubes are not. Pipes are often classified by the material used in fabrication: wood, copper, clay, steel. Hose is almost always flexible, and often used for temporary or mobile applications (air hose, fire hose, garden hose, dryer hose). Another related term is duct, which comes from Latin ducere, "to lead", which is what ducts do: they lead somewhere. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/duct https://www.etymonline.com/word/duct> I'm not sure that pipes must be circular or rounded, as "square pipe" is in fact a thing (though a minority thing). Another distinction between pipes and tubes is that pipes are specific to transport, that is, something flows through a pipe. A tube however describes a shape and there can be structural tubes, either hollow or filled, through which there is no flow. One example is sleeves used to form concrete support columns: these are tubes (often of paperboard), into which structural steel and cement mix are poured, resulting in solid, static columns. That's discussed here: <https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=455180 https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=455180> We also talk of "speaking tubes", which were used for communications, especially on ships or in factories. There are containers which are tubes, which hold and emit their contents, but contents don't flow through them, transiting end-to-end: toothpaste tube, tube of caulk, grease tube. Some animals have tubular bones, most notably birds. Putting this together, I'd argue that a tube is a general shape which may apply to a usually rigid pipe or a flexible hose, which are often used to duct fluids (gasses or liquids) from some source to a destination.