带圆形雷达的飞机(飞机舷窗为何是圆形的)(1)

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While not everyone will have pondered the subject while staring out of the window during a flight, the question as to why aeroplanes have circular windows rather than square ones is interesting.虽然不是每个人都会在飞行中凝视窗外的时候思索一个问题:为什么舷窗是圆形的而不是方形的。但这个问题很有趣。

Over the years, aerospace engineering has made huge leaps in aeroplane technology, meaning planes can carry more passengers and go faster. The planes have also changed shape to increase safety – including the windows.

多年来,航空航天工程在飞机技术上取得了巨大的飞跃,这意味着飞机可以运载更多的乘客,飞行速度更快。同时,为了提高飞机的安全性,飞机在外形上也做出了相应的改变。舷窗,便是变化之一。

In the 1950s, when jetliners were starting to become mainstream, the De Havilland Comet[1] came into fashion. With a pressurized cabin, it was able to go higher and faster than other aircraft.

20世纪50年代,喷气式客机开始成为主流,德·哈维兰“彗星”客机便是当时的主要机型。增压座舱的诞生使得喷气式飞机可以比其他飞机飞得更高更快。

[1] 德·哈维兰“彗星”客机,由英国哈维兰公司研发,于1949年出厂的喷气民航客机,是世界上第一种以喷气发动机为动力的民航客机。

However, the plane had square windows and in 1953 two planes fell apart in the air, killing 56 people in total.

然而,该机型舷窗是方形的,1953年,该机型两架客机在空中解体,共造成56人死亡。

The reason for the crashes? The windows.

悲剧发生的原因是什么?答案是:舷窗。

Where there’s a corner, there’s a weak spot. Windows, having four corners, have four potential weak spots, making them likely to crash under stress – such as air pressure.

哪里有拐角,哪里就有弱点。方形舷窗有四个角,就有着四个潜在的薄弱点,使它们很可能在压力作用下破裂,比如大气压力。

By curving the window, the stress that would eventually crack the window corner is distributed and the likelihood of it breaking is reduced.

因此,让窗缘线条弯曲,来分散窗口四角的压力,从而降低了窗户破碎的可能性。

来源:英语世界

作者:莫丽·古德费勒

翻译:吴漪妮

来源:英语世界

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