The reason is ridiculously simple: square windows. This was one of those annoying little things that are easy to miss when designing; but as soon as something happens, they become obvious even to a child.
The square window consists of four 90-degree notches, which means it has four weak points. If there was pressure on your house, the crack would certainly go through the corner of some window.
Have you noticed that the windows on all planes are round? This is not done for beauty - the round shape does not allow the plane to be torn into pieces. The pressure is distributed along the entire curve instead of cracking at the corners (as it turned out) and tearing the plane to shreds. 
Believe me, it wasn't easy to find out. Experts had no idea why the plane's structure was falling apart until they tested the structure by repeatedly simulating cabin pressure. Of course, the fuselage eventually burst, and the rupture began precisely from these notorious corners. Since then, all aircraft have only round windows.
Porthole (from Latin illuminator - illuminator)
a glazed window in the hull or superstructure of a ship for lighting and ventilation of interior spaces. Ship windows are round (side and deckhouse) and rectangular (wheelhouse), solid and opening, often with waterproof covers. The choice of type I. is determined by the location of its installation and the distance to the waterline (See Waterline). I. are also called round windows of an underwater research vehicle, airplane, helicopter, spaceship, etc.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .
Synonyms:See what “Illuminator” is in other dictionaries:
- (Dead light, bull's eye) round window on the ship. I. consists of a cast frame that covers a round cutout in the outer skin and is attached to it with bolts or rivets. An internal frame is hinged to this frame, into which is inserted... ... Nautical Dictionary
- (by this, see next word). 1) coloring paintings, engravings, lithographic prints. 2) small windows, side or deck, used to illuminate cabins and decks. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910.… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
1. PORTHOLE, a; m. [lat. illuminator] A hermetically sealed round window (on a ship, on an airplane, etc.). Side windows. Batten down the portholes. Porthole glass. Ship and. ◁ Porthole, oh, oh. And oh hole... encyclopedic Dictionary
Transilluminator, draftsman, illuminator, window Dictionary of Russian synonyms. porthole noun, number of synonyms: 4 porthole (5) ... Synonym dictionary
porthole- a, m. illuminateur lat. illuminator. Illumination specialist; pyrotechnician BAS 1. Since illuminations have now become spectacles, they call someone who practices the art of distributing light or illumination in such a way... an Illuminator. Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language
- (from Latin illuminator illuminator) a glazed window on a ship, deep-sea or aircraft, round or rectangular, fixed or opening, with or without waterproof covers... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- [il], porthole, husband. (from Latin illuminator, illuminator). 1. A tightly closing round window on the side of a ship (marine). 2. The person in charge of the illumination device (special). Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
PORTHOLE, huh, husband. A hermetically sealed window (on a ship, deep-sea vehicle or aircraft). Ship and. | adj. porthole, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
- (lat. illuminator illuminator) a round or rectangular window on the side of the ship’s hull, the wall of its superstructure or in the upper deck for light access ... Wikipedia
- (lat. illuminator, from illummo I illuminate) glass. window on a ship (see figure), underwater research. apparatus, airplane, helicopter, spacecraft. ship, etc. Ship's porthole... Big Encyclopedic Polytechnic Dictionary
PORTHOLE- Viewing the portholes on a ship is a pleasant journey. Open you will be entrusted with freedom of action in making important decisions. You will be able to get through the difficult competition and take a prestigious vacancy. You look through the closed porthole... ... Big family dream book
Books
- Earth in the porthole (collection), Yuri Ivanovich. Since ancient times, intelligent beings have loved to have fun by hunting, but sooner or later any civilized society recognizes hunters as poachers and mercilessly fights the destruction of nature. But… eBook
16.08.2018 , 09:39 58719
One day I was traveling with a friend; it was his first time on an airplane. During boarding we were asked. The friend laughed nervously, adding: “Okay, at least just curtains. The pilots also open their windows and probably smoke. As soon as they’re not afraid to fall out?” And then I remembered, when boarding the plane, the pilots actually had their side windows open. Why do pilots need windows that open?
In fact, the side opening windows are not needed for smoking or for spectacular selfies, and not even for ventilation during the flight. During a flight at an altitude of 9-12 km, the air temperature outside drops to −50 degrees. Secondly, there is little oxygen there; if you open the window, a person would simply pass out from the lack of it. Thirdly, high pressure and strong air pressure would not allow one to lean out of the window and take a selfie during the flight, and besides, the cabin instantly depressurized.
What is a window actually for?
An opening window in an airplane cabin is an emergency exit. The fact is that the door separating the cockpit from the main passenger plane- armored and protected by a combination lock. When emergency landing its jamming is possible. Although in this case, it may happen that there is no time left to open the door; it is easier to open the window and get out through it. Also, in the event of a plane being hijacked by terrorists, the pilots, as a last resort, will be able to leave the plane without passenger compartment. In the event of a hijacking, intelligence officers can enter through the window and make their way through the cockpit into the passenger cabin to neutralize the invaders.
Fortunately, in practice, windows are rarely used for their intended purpose. Sometimes this opening window is used to simply wash the front windows...
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012, at a meeting with potential donors, was outraged by the fact that passengers could not open “windows” on the plane.
The plane carrying presidential candidate Romney's wife landed after experiencing smoke in the cabin. There was no fire (everything is made from non-flammable materials), but, of course, the plane was quickly landed. Commenting on the incident, the Republican said:
“If there is a fire on the plane and you have nowhere to go, ... you cannot breathe, because outside air cannot enter the cabin, since the windows do not open. I have no idea why they won't open. This is a real problem. And this is very dangerous. She gasped and rubbed her eyes. And it would be much easier for the wife to cope with stress if she could breathe fresh air during a fire. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and co-pilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she’s fine now,” he concluded.
So why can't you open the windows and doors on an airplane?
US presidential candidate regrets that airplane windows cannot be opened
What happens if you open the door on an airplane? Let's start with the fact that after takeoff, the aircraft doors are under great pressure. The door area is at least half a meter. Those. 5000 sq. cm. Even if the difference is only 0.2 Atm, then 1000 kgf must be applied to open the door. More precisely - 500kgs, since the handle is on the edge of the door, and the other side is on hinges
That is, to open such a door, you will need the strength of Superman. Not a single person can do this task. So if you are afraid that some tipsy passenger will decide to open the door during a flight and passengers will start flying overboard, you have nothing to worry about. This is completely out of the question.
In addition, a barometric relay is built into the door lock, which, as soon as the plane begins to gain altitude, automatically locks the lock tightly. The lock is unlocked only when the pressure inside the aircraft is equal to the outside pressure (that is, on the ground).
But still...
Up to about 4 km - nothing particularly terrible will happen, it will blow strongly, things will fly around the cabin. :) It will get colder. -6 Celsius for every kilometer of altitude. That is, at an altitude of 4 km it will become 24 degrees colder than at this time on the surface of the earth. In theory, there may be minor structural damage - but this depends on the specific circumstances of the unfortunate incident, the speed of the aircraft and the direction and speed of the wind.
At 10 km and above it will be worse - a sharp (explosive) decompression (pressure drop), up to the effect of a blast wave. Things from the cabin and unbelted passengers can be carried overboard by the air being sucked out. Things flying around the cabin can seriously injure passengers (for example, a camera or video camera). A blow to the ears (due to changes in pressure) - both sharply and strongly and painfully - may cause bleeding from the ears and/or nose. There is very little oxygen at this altitude. You need to immediately put on an oxygen mask (be sure to first yourself, then help others, including children).
The pilot must have time to descend to a safe altitude (4 km) - so that passengers can breathe - because The oxygen supply is only enough for about 10 minutes. But “falling” 6 km in 10 minutes is not a problem, it can be done faster, the main thing is that the passengers do not become hypothermic, because The difference in temperature on the ground and at an altitude of 10 km is 60 degrees Celsius. The probability of damage to the structure is somewhat greater - but nevertheless - not great.
There is such a thing as an emergency descent in less than 10 minutes. you can descend to a height of 3-4 km. But the sensations during such a descent will not be very pleasant; here on the ground your ears will ring from the sharp pressure drop, and even more so in the stratosphere.
Here are some more interesting points:
Airplanes spend most of their flight at high altitude, for which there are good reasons: safety, comfort, savings. In the event of an emergency, the crew of an aircraft located at a high altitude - larger stock time and opportunity to deal with it. In cold, rarefied air there is less resistance to movement, fuel is saved and engines are cooled better. At high altitudes there are no insects and birds, and there are fewer strong and multidirectional air currents that cause turbulence (for example, when air goes down around cumulus clouds and up between them).
In simple words, turbulence can be explained as follows: the plane moves through the air, as if on a tightly stretched carpet. Under favorable conditions, the pressure on the surface of the “carpet” is distributed evenly; it is even and smooth. But as soon as conditions change, folds and wrinkles appear along the “carpet of air.” Passengers feel this and it seems to them that the plane is diving into a hole. But their sensations deceive them: the plane does not fall and does not fail anywhere, but glides further (only not on a flat surface, but on a wavy surface).
If the engine fails, the plane does not roll or fall into a dive or spin - the thrust simply drops. The engines accelerate the plane, not steer it.
Even if all engines fail, they will still operate in autorotation mode (in this case, the energy required to rotate the engine is taken from the air flow incident on it). This allows the plane not to fall, but to glide (flying, if necessary, more than 100 km) and land safely at the nearest airport.
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More about aviation: let’s remember about, but, well,
We love flying airplanes! But it turns out that in flight everything is far from so simple 😉 We will tell you a few interesting facts, which you've most likely never heard of before 😉 Let's go!
1. There is often an ax on board an aircraft, which is part of the safety equipment and is stored in the cockpit behind the captain's seat.
2. Flight attendants demand to raise the window shades not at all so that you can admire the take-off picture, but in order, in extreme cases, to see a fire.
3. An airplane wing is actually very flexible and can bend at enormous angles. So if the wing sways during flight, everything is fine 😉
4. On board an aircraft, the captain has unlimited power and can detain, fine, and much, much more.
5. You will never be able to land a plane on your own, even following the prompts of air traffic controllers. Most likely, you won’t even understand how to contact them... And the autopilot, by the way, does not work completely autonomously during landing.
6. It is possible that the body of a deceased person or organs that someone needs for transplantation may be flying on the same plane with you.
7. The porthole window is triple glazed to protect against pressure changes, regulate air flow and protect against internal damage, respectively.
8. A flight attendant or steward can always open the toilet door with ease, because... There is a secret handle hidden under the name of the room.
9. The pilot and co-pilot cannot eat the same food and share it with each other. This was done to avoid the possibility of poisoning both crew captains.
10. The table in front of you is not nearly as clean as it seems. We strongly advise against placing food or personal items on it!
Did you like the article? Scroll on and see a photo selection of those with whom you would definitely not want to be on the same plane! 😉
If you cannot afford to fly business or first class, there is nothing left to do but choose economy class... where, to be honest, it is not always convenient and pleasant. And all because there are many other unusual people and more flying with you.
WuzzUp brings to your attention the 20 most annoying passengers you can meet on an airplane.
