6 lines · 81 words · 0:28 read aloud
Why Airplane Windows Are Round
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Airplane windows used to be square. That choice cost lives.
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In the 1950s, some of the first jet airliners broke apart in the air.
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Investigators found cracks starting at the sharp corners of the openings.
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A sharp corner concentrates stress. Every time the cabin pressurized, the metal flexed there a little more.
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A curve spreads that stress out evenly, so nothing gives way at one point.
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So next time you fly, that round window is a lesson learned the hard way.
