A lot of the time we jet off on your holidays without a second thought about the aircraft we’re flying on.
But have you ever look around and wondered – why do they dim the lights during take-off? Why are almost all planes white? And why the hell are there holes in every plane window.
Having a hole anywhere on a plane seems a terrible idea, but there’s a good reason behind the tiny gap in the windows.
Maybe people are scared of flying – despite the fact that 2016 was actually the safest year in aviation history – but the engineers who design planes are actually geniuses.
And those tiny holes you’ve been fretting about are actually designed to stop the cabin from depressuring.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Tech Insider, the hole is used to regulate air pressure.
As the plane gains altitude, the air pressure outside drops compared to the regulated air pressure inside the cabin.
The difference between the two puts physical stress on the windows, which are made up of three panes of glass.
The first of these panes is called a scratch pane, the middle pane is the one with the bleed hole and then there’s the out pane.
There's a small air gap in between the middle and outer panes and the hole is actually in the middle pane.
The hole – otherwise known as a "breather" or "bleed hole” – balances the pressure between the cabin and the air gap.
This basically stops us from passing out as we soar at up to 36,000ft above sea level.
As we whizz along, the outer pane takes most of the pressure, but the middle one os there as a fail-safe – good to know.
The all important hole also realises moisture from the gap, preventing the windows from fogging or frosting over.
So next time you’re admiring the birds-eye view, remember to appreciate that tiny gap in your plane window and the genius who came up with the concept.
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