The air temp, pre-wind chill for tomorrow morning was -19 degrees F when I last checked. With wind chill, it will be likely be -40 deg F (my guess, haven't checked weather). Frostbite in 5 minutes. Schools open themselves up to legal issues. Nothing to do with heating. More bodies in the building helps heat the building (some). Additionally, most buses use diesel. There are often challenges starting the busses in the extreme cold. The gasoline gels up. There are anti-gelling agents specifically for diesel fuel (different from HEET).
When I was a kid we always used HEET in our gasoline during the winter time. More important when the tank ran low. More vapors in the tank to freeze. Now the lower octanes have a 10% ethanol additive. I have been of the believe that this additive should take care of the anti-icing needs of the fuel and fuel tank.
-----Original Message-----
From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@phys-l.org] On Behalf Of Anthony Lapinski
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2014 9:11 PM
To: phys-l@phys-l.org
Subject: [Phys-L] weather, school, and cars
I've been talking with a friend in Chicago, and he's mentioned about schools being closed due to the very cold weather there. I asked specifically the reasons for the closings, and he could not really tell me. I also searched online for some explanations. Does anyone know? Too expensive to heat the buildings? Health risk for kids waiting outside for buses? Buses malfunctioning?
He also mentioned that many stores are out of HEET. As I understand it, HEET is a sort of gasoline antifreeze that contains alcohol which prevents the carburetor from icing. Is this additive really necessary since gasoline, depending on the type, generally freezes at a very low temperature (-72 °C)? And does this depend on how full the gas tank is?