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Nairaland Forum / Science/Technology / Why Do All Airplane Windows Have Tiny Hole In Them (768 Views)
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Why Do All Airplane Windows Have Tiny Hole In Them by Gluthatione: 8:15pm On Nov 13, 2015 |
Looking out the window of a plane – with many hours to burn and a
god-like perspective of the world – can get you pondering some of
life’s big questions: Are we alone in the universe? How did it all
begin? Is there purpose to our existence? Wait, what are those little
holes in airplane windows?
Thanks to the curious mind of Robbie Gonzalez from io9 , the latter of
those questions might be answered. After finding no sturdy
answer on internet forums, he decided to track down a copy of a
maintenance manual for the Boeing 737 on Wikileaks and contact
Marlowe Moncur, Director of Technology for GKN Aerospace, the
world leader in passenger cabin window design development.
As you might have already guessed, it’s to do with regulating
pressure.
He found that most cabin windows consist of outer, middle and inner
panes – all of which are made of a superstrong synthetic resin.
Typically, it’s the middle pane that has the mysterious little hole.
Only the outer and middle panes are actually structural, while the
inner is pretty much there as failsafe and to protect the other layers.
Moncur said it’s only there to maintain cabin pressure in the
extremely rare event that the outer pane becomes fractured.
Cruising at 10,600 meters (35,000 feet), the pressure is around 1.5
kilograms (3.3 pounds) per square inch. This is too low for the
human body to stay conscious, so the pressure is artificially
maintained at around 3.5 kilograms (8 pounds) per square inch. But
of course, if you increase pressure inside, the structure has to be
strong to hold the difference between the external pressure and
internal pressure.
The outer pane is the thickest of these and is the primary layer that
bears the pressure of the cabin. According to Gonzalez, the little hole
is there to act as “as a bleed valve, allowing pressure between the air
in the passenger cabin and the air between the outer and middle
panes to equilibrate.” Simply put, it ensures that only the strongest
outer pane is bearing the pressure, leaving the middle pane available
in case of an emergency. |
Re: Why Do All Airplane Windows Have Tiny Hole In Them by whitecloth: 8:39pm On Nov 13, 2015 |
Gluthatione:. I've been thinking of that before I open the page: pressure. |
Re: Why Do All Airplane Windows Have Tiny Hole In Them by mrphysics(m): 2:20pm On Nov 15, 2015 |
whitecloth:meteorology taught us dat, d high u go, d cooler it becomes in our troposphere, also, pressure decreases with altitude truout d layers of d atmosphere. if u r observant enough, u will discover dat as u go up, pressure will decrease, and ur body and d plane is expected to expand! hope u remember dat (pressure decrease leads to expansion) and to maintain d pressure of d plane, d holes r made. its also one of d reasons, commercial planes dnt go up to 10km, because d body of d plane can nt withstand d pressure. tnks |
Re: Why Do All Airplane Windows Have Tiny Hole In Them by whitecloth: 3:02pm On Nov 15, 2015 |
mrphysics:Am flattered by your explanation, you're correct couple with the fact that pressure is force over area, pressure is inversely proportional to the area. Thanks |
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