Aperture Science Pipe Network

This article is within the scope of the Portal Project, a collaborative effort to improve articles related to Portal and Portal 2. See the project page for more details about the article status.

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The title of this article is conjectural.

Although this article is based on official information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

The Aperture Science Pipe Network is a nexus of pipes and tubes connecting the Test Chambers throughout the Aperture Science Enrichment Center in Portal as well as Portal 2.

A vital part of the testing process, it delivers to its destinations the Weighted Storage Cubes, Sentry Turrets and Edgeless Safety Cubes through Vital Apparatus Vents, and any object through Pneumatic Diversity Vents.

There are also variants of these tube networks that transport neurotoxin and various Mobility Gels around the facility in Portal 2.

Overview

Portalpipes — The Pipe Network as seen in Portal 2.

The pipes use pneumatic pressure to carry various objects around the facility.

They are an integral part of the Enrichment Center, connecting every Test Chamber and allowing for simple and automated distribution of Weighted Storage Cubes and other objects.

In Portal, Chell boards a broken pipe during her escape, to be pushed by the air pressure for a long distance before landing in a Vital Apparatus Vent, which collapses under her weight.

The Pipe Network was bathed by a glowing orange light in Portal. This may be from the numerous incinerators scattered around the Aperture Laboratories, such as the Emergency Intelligence Incinerator and the Diversity Furnace.

A large press can also be seen casting Weighted Storage Cubes and feeding them into the Pipe Network through a large funnel.

Trivia

In the Developer Commentary for Portal 2, it is revealed that the pipe network was designed in an Aperture Science mindset: A ridiculously complex, inefficient, and expensive solution to a simple transportation problem. It is also revealed that Aperture Science has so much generic test chamber props, such as Storage Cubes and turrets, that they simply do not care about what is transported where.

Gallery

Portal

Portal 2

List of appearances

Portal (First appearance)
Portal: First Slice
Portal: Still Alive (Non-canonical appearance)
Portal 2
The Final Hours of Portal 2

Technology
Aperture Science	1500 Megawatt Heavy Duty Super-Colliding Super Button • Advanced Knee Replacement • Aerial Faith Plate • Announcement System • ATLAS and P-body • Borealis • Core Input Receptacle • Crusher • Edgeless Safety Cube Receptacle • Edgeless Safety Cube • Emergency Intelligence Incinerator • Excursion Funnel • Frankenturret • Futbol (cut) • GLaDOS • Hard Light Bridge • High Energy Pellet • Jerry • Laser Field • Long Fall Boot • Material Emancipation Grill • Military Android • Mobility Gels: Conversion Gel / Propulsion Gel / Repulsion Gel • Multitasking Arm • Nanobot • Panel • Party Escort Bot • Personality Construct • Pipe Network • Pneumatic Diversity Vent • Cube Button • Radio • Reassembly Machine • Relaxation Vault • Robot Enrichment • Robot Worker • Scaling Cube • Security Camera • Shredder • Speaker System • Stasis Chamber • Sticking Gel (cut) • Switch • Teleportation • Thermal Discouragement Beam • Unstationary Scaffold • Victory Lift • Vital Apparatus Vent • Weighted Pivot Cube • Weighted Storage Cube • Wheatley
Black Mesa	Anti-Mass Spectrometer • Battery • Black Mesa Announcement System • Charger • Cleansuit • Delivery cart • Emergency flare (cut) • HEV Suit • Holographic Assistant • Long Jump Module • Medkit • The Mesa Times • MTM 8 • Oxygen Bottles (cut) • Powerup Bottles (cut) • Retinal scanner • Satellite Delivery Rocket • Security Card (cut) • Armor Vest and Helmet • Teleportation • Vehicles • Weapon Box • Weapons
Black Ops	Cloaking device • Weapons
Combine	Battery • Breencast • Charger • Citadel Core • Citadel • Barricade • Binoculars • Binoculars (cut) • Bunker • Camera • Cell • Combine Assassin tank (cut) • Combine Big Momma Pod (cut) • Confiscation Field • Dark Energy • Depot • Dispenser • Door lock • Door Tower (cut) • Dr. Breen's Private Reserve • Elevator • Emergency flare • Emitter • Energy Ball • Field Bridge • Force Field • Heavy Door • Heel Springs (cut) • Interface • Light • Medkit • Memory Replacement • Monitor • Overwatch Voice • Power Generator • Restrictor • Security Door • Smart Barrier • Supply Crate • Suppression Field • Teleportation • Television • The Terminal • Vehicles • Watchtower • Weapons • Vorti-Cell (cut)
Resistance	Borealis (cut) • Car battery • Communication • Antlion Detector • Dog • EMP Tool • Fire Extinguisher (cut) • Generator trailer • Drawbridge • Retinal scanner • Supply Crate • Teleportation • Television • Transponder • Vehicles • Weapons • White Forest rocket
Xen	Healing Shower • Thumper
HECU	Powered Combat Vest • Radio • Tactical Map • Welding Torch
Other	Garden Gnome

Aperture Science
Personnel	Caroline • Chell • Desk Employee • Henry • Cave Johnson • Doug Rattmann • Greg • Mel (cut) • Test Subject • Test Subject 042 • Test Subject 234 • Minor Aperture Science employees
Technology	1500 Megawatt Heavy Duty Super-Colliding Super Button • Advanced Knee Replacement • Aerial Faith Plate • Announcement System • Borealis • Core Input Receptacle • Crusher • Edgeless Safety Cube • Edgeless Safety Cube Receptacle • Emergency Intelligence Incinerator • Excursion Funnel • Futbol (cut) • Handheld Portal Device • Hard Light Bridge • High Energy Pellet • Laser Field • Long Fall Boot • Material Emancipation Grill • Mobility Gels: Conversion Gel / Propulsion Gel / Repulsion Gel / Sticking Gel (cut) • Multitasking Arm • Pipe Network • Pneumatic Diversity Vent • Panel • Cube Button • Radio • Reassembly Machine • Relaxation Vault • Security Camera • Scaling Cube • Shredder • Speaker System • Stasis Chamber • Switch • Teleportation • Thermal Discouragement Beam • Unstationary Scaffold • Victory Lift • Vital Apparatus Vent • Weighted Pivot Cube • Weighted Storage Cube
Robots	Robot Worker • ATLAS and P-body • GLaDOS • Grady • Jerry • Military Android • Nanobot • Party Escort Bot • Personality Construct • Robot Enrichment • Wheatley
Weapons	Bomb • Hover Turret (cut)
Sentry Turrets	Animal King • Frankenturret • Defective Turret • Oracle Turret • Rocket Sentry • Sentry Turret • Turret Opera
Locations	Borealis • Employee Daycare Center • Enrichment Center • Enrichment Shafts: Co-op Test Shaft / Test Shaft 09 • Extended Relaxation Annex • Extended Relaxation Center • Central AI Chamber • Hub • Incinerator Room • Neurotoxin Generator • Testing Tracks: GLaDOS' Testing Track (Portal) / GLaDOS' Testing Track (Portal 2) / Wheatley's Testing Track / Cooperative Testing Courses • Turret Manufacturing
Other	Aperture Science Collaborative Disposition Test • ApertureScience.com • Cake • Enrichment Center Test Subject Application Process • GLaDOS' screen images • Hoopie • Karla the Complainer • Mantis Man