Automobile disc brakes with spacing or gaps separating the contact surfaces are commonly referred to as ventilated brakes. However, I've never heard the word "ventilated" outside of this context.
Should the word describing these brakes be "ventilated" or "vented"?
*(I have seen both used, but I see "ventilated" used significantly more frequently)
Ventilate (Google): cause air to enter and circulate freely in (a room, building, etc.)
Vent (Google): provide with an outlet for air, gas, or liquid
I take these definitions to mean that for something to be "ventilated", it is actively changing or moving airflow. For something to be "vented", it is made or constructed in a way that allows a fluid to escape.
So in referring to the brakes as a mere object – whether slowing down a Formula 1 car or sitting in a box in Autozone – it looks like it is more appropriate to call them vented brakes.
Is one necessarily correct or more appropriate than the other?
Best Answer
In this context, "to ventilate" means to cause air to circulate, while "to vent" means to provide with an opening or openings (vents) through which air can pass. So a "ventilated brake" is a brake through which air is forced to circulate while a "vented brake" is one that has been provided with openings through which air can pass. I have also seen the term "ventilated facade", which is a facade attached to a building with a space behind it in which air can circulate by convection. In this case, there are hardly any hits in Google for "vented facade".
The distinction I am trying to make may be clearer in a medical context. When a patient is ventilated, air is forced into his lungs while, if the patient were "vented", he would probably die. :-)