Why aren’t the windows in passenger airplanes bigger?
Aircraft March 22nd, 2010
Why aren’t the windows in passenger airplanes bigger? Like, in Amtrak the whole wall is one big window. Why can’t an airplane have that?
By: water_skipper
About the Author:
By: water_skipper
About the Author:
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
because even though the aircraft is very high up, the cabin is pressurized to about the atmospheric pressure found at around 8,000 feet. The aircraft flies 20,000 to 41,000 feet. The pressure difference is pretty high. Big windows is not a very good thing.
If the window is too big, it is more likely that the window will blow out under the pressure causing explosive decompression.
That is NOT a good thing. The air will be sucked out, temperature will fall, oxygen content will be reduced drastically, and that’s why the air masks will descend from the ceiling so the passengers can still breathe until the plane descends to a lower altitude where the air is richer in oxygen.
It is also why windows are round or oval and never square. They learned from the old Comet that square windows, after awhile, because of metal fatigue, explosive decompression, or plain slow decompression, becomes extremely likely.
Trains are not pressurized. The air pressure inside and outside the train is the same so there is no force pushing on the inner walls, or windows of the train trying to burst outside where the air pressure would have been relatively lower.
**edit* Oh, yeah, forgot to add, not only the window could blow out, but another part of the fuselage too because the windows do not bear the same stress as other parts of the hull.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I think Because trains are not pressurized. Airliners are kept at a cabin altitude around 4 to 5 thousand feet by forcing air into the passenger space. That pushes outward on the walls, which have to be strengthened, and window cutouts weaken the structure, so they have to be kept small.
March 26th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I think It’s basically called structural integrity. Besides pressure problems, you would lack vertical ribs necessary to hold the aircraft together under stress.
March 28th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
I think If the airlines had their way aircraft would have no windows at all. All the above answers are basically correct but to put even the smallest window in requires structural reinforcement and that means added weight. If they could delete the windows thay could carry more payload and increase revenues.
March 31st, 2010 at 1:16 am
so that u dont get scared
March 31st, 2010 at 8:03 am
Because the larger the windows are, the more pressure is exerted on it, requiring stronger windows.
April 1st, 2010 at 8:07 am
Hello, to keep the steward’s from throwing you off the plane.
April 2nd, 2010 at 5:48 pm
A typical aircraft passenger window is probably 10 inches wide and 20 inches high (200 sq inches). At altitude, the aircraft cabin pressure is probably 10 psi above the ambient condition. Therefore, the force pushing the window outward due to cabin pressure is roughly 2000 lbf or 1 ton – on each window. And they can never, ever fail. In addition, the windows cannot carry the structural loads that are carried through the fuselage (from the wings, tail surfaces, etc)- so they do not help and in fact just get in the way in that regard. In fact, their very presence increases the stresses within the surrounding aluminum by a factor of 3. Windows are necessary, but making them bigger would not be a good idea.
April 3rd, 2010 at 5:20 am
I think The windows in airliners used to be *huge*, but there was a problem with people thinking they could fly, and jumping out. This created a prob
April 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
I think stress and pressure would blow them out