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Q:

What kind of gas is used to inflate aircraft tires?

A:

Large aircraft tires are filled with nitrogen not air. Air is a combination of gasses that at low atmospheric temperatures and pressure can turn to ice inside the tires or under high temperatures and pressures even explode. Nitrogen is an inert gas meaning that it does not react chemically with rubber and does not support combustion. Nitrogen is the much safer choice to fill aircraft tires.

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