- 8 hours ago
Have you ever wondered why massive commercial jet engines don't just use a simple metal screen to prevent dangerous bird strikes mid-flight? While it seems like a no-brainer for aviation safety, installing bird barriers would actually restrict vital airflow and severely reduce the engine's thrust and fuel efficiency. Even worse, if a bird impacts a grille at 500 miles per hour, the barrier could shatter, sucking catastrophic metal shrapnel directly into the delicate turbine blades! Instead, aerospace engineering experts rely on rigorous testing to ensure modern airplane engines can simply swallow a bird strike and keep flying safely or safely shut down without endangering the aircraft. Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00There are so many ways to make airplanes safer.
00:03For example, they could have ejector seats so that every passenger could be rescued.
00:08In reality, though, it's way more difficult than it sounds.
00:12If there were ejector seats, your trip would be very different.
00:16Everyone would have to be strapped into a seat with a harness to make sure they wouldn't fall out of
00:21it.
00:21Then you would have to wear an oxygen mask all throughout the flight.
00:25An emergency can occur at any time.
00:27Then, ejection in itself is a big pressure on your body.
00:32Even fighter pilots who are physically prepared can still suffer severe injuries.
00:36For an average person, this process wouldn't be safe.
00:40So, however cool it sounds, ejection seats aren't very practical and are actually quite dangerous.
00:47Okay, well, at least they could have a parachute for each passenger.
00:51But this wouldn't be very useful either.
00:54Parachutes only sound like they can save many lives.
00:57First, having them isn't efficient.
00:59They're very costly and heavy.
01:02So, a plane would need to burn more fuel while flying if there were parachutes on board.
01:07It would all be worth it, though, if parachutes could make an actual difference to the safety of people.
01:13But they can't.
01:14Commercial planes aren't designed in a way that would make it safe to jump out of them.
01:18Especially with a couple hundred people on board.
01:21Next, passengers aren't trained to use them.
01:24Imagine there's an emergency.
01:26The plane is falling and 200 people are trying to deal with a parachute for the first time in their
01:31lives.
01:32It would be an absolute mess.
01:34Lastly, it's not safe to jump from the high altitudes planes fly at.
01:39So, oxygen masks, life vests, and boats are the best life-saving equipment.
01:44And every plane has those.
01:47You know those huge engines that they have under the wings?
01:50Yeah, look at them.
01:52They don't look safe at all.
01:54Birds can get pulled in.
01:55And it actually happens.
01:57They could at least put a grate in front of the rotating parts to prevent birds from getting in there.
02:03Turns out those engines pull inside huge amounts of air.
02:07And this is crucial for them to work properly.
02:10The more air gets swallowed, the more air gets compressed, mixed with fuel, and burned.
02:16And then, more of it gets pushed out from the other side, keeping the plane going.
02:21A cover at the front would be a barrier, significantly reducing the air inflow that is crucial for the proper
02:28work of the engines.
02:29And this would endanger the passengers.
02:32But hey, don't be too upset.
02:34Birds fly way lower than planes do.
02:36So, they're only in danger for a few minutes at the beginning of the flight while the plane is climbing
02:41altitude.
02:42And at the very end, when the plane is landing.
02:45So, very few of them ever get pulled in.
02:47And if they do, it's never a threat to the engines or passenger's safety.
02:52Planes also don't change up the gears like cars do.
02:55So, technically, they can't go backwards.
02:58The reason for this is that planes don't need to go backward.
03:02They can just turn around and move in the opposite direction, but face first.
03:06The only time when they need to move backward is when they have to get to the gate.
03:11And for those times, there's help.
03:13Pushback tractors.
03:14Those are small vehicles that can connect to airplanes and move them in the required direction.
03:20Watch out for those next time you fly.
03:23But technically speaking, planes can go backward if the engines start pushing the air forward instead of backward.
03:29But this is very dangerous for everyone around.
03:32One of the very few cases when they do it is during landing to help slow the airplane down.
03:39There are cameras on the outside that let pilots navigate taxiways better.
03:43They come in especially handy during tricky maneuvering.
03:47But do you know, there are also cameras in airplane cabins?
03:51You can relax.
03:52There are no cameras in the laboratories.
03:55But yes, they are there in the cabin.
03:57And for security reasons only, flight attendants monitor them to see what's not visible from their own seats.
04:04Of course, flight attendants can check everything just by walking down the cabin.
04:08And that's exactly what they do most of the time.
04:11So, cameras are mostly used during takeoff and landing when everyone, including flight attendants, is supposed to sit down.
04:19As those are the most dangerous stages of a flight.
04:23Notice that it's exactly during these stages that the rules are particularly strict.
04:28All electronic devices should be turned off or put on airplane mode.
04:32And big electronic devices should be stored away.
04:36Window blinds should be raised and tables folded.
04:40Seats should be put in the upright position.
04:42You need to have your seatbelt fastened and so on.
04:45This is all done for safety and to ensure fast evacuation in case of emergency.
04:50So, let's discuss these rules.
04:52Airplane mode on electronic devices is important to make sure that the signals that devices transmit don't interfere with the
04:59plane's electronic systems.
05:01If they interfere, they will block the radio's frequency pilots need to get their instructions.
05:07Do you remember that clicking sound a speaker makes right before your cell phone gets a call if the two
05:12devices are close?
05:13This is the sound pilots might hear while communicating with air traffic control.
05:19Now, putting away large devices like laptops is important because they might turn into obstacles if you need to get
05:25out of the plane fast in case of an emergency.
05:28All the pathways should be as clear as possible.
05:32This is why everything should be packed away, seats straightened and tables folded.
05:37There should be nothing blocking anyone's way.
05:40And lastly, window blinds.
05:42The lights on the airplane get turned off too.
05:45Those two things are done to make sure your eyes get used to the natural light outside the aircraft.
05:51Imagine it's night.
05:53Some emergency happens and the lights that were left on suddenly go off.
05:58People need to evacuate as fast as possible.
06:01But their eyes aren't adjusted to the dark yet and they can't see anything.
06:06This will slow everyone down.
06:08If the lights inside are out, people get used to the darkness and will be able to evacuate faster.
06:15The same goes for window blinds.
06:17If it's day and they are raised, people are used to the light outside and can evacuate faster.
06:22Another reason is that when blinds are raised during landing, people outside can see what's going on inside the plane.
06:30For example, if there's fire or smoke and where exactly.
06:33This way, they can plan the evacuation process better.
06:38Also, you might have noticed black triangles drawn above some windows on the airplane.
06:45These triangles mark the seats from which the view on the airplane's wings is the best.
06:51It's needed for the crew to find the spot as fast as possible if, in case of emergency, they need
06:58to inspect the engines, slats, or flaps.
07:02This little triangle saves the plane crew a lot of time.
07:07We do talk about emergencies a lot.
07:10But they really don't happen often.
07:12It's more dangerous to drive a car than to fly by plane, and most of us get in the car
07:18every day.
07:19Yet, the fear of flying is still very much out there, and people can get superstitious.
07:26In many cultures, the number 13 is considered unlucky.
07:31So, airplane companies that often fly to those destinations just omit row 13.
07:37It's a small thing to do, but it can spare a few anxious passengers who happen to sit in row
07:4413.
07:45In other cultures, like in Italy and Brazil, 17 is the unlucky number, and some aircraft have both rows 13
07:52and 17 missing.
07:54In airplanes that fly to China, they can often omit row 14 instead.
08:04Let me tell you a terrifying story.
08:06You're on a flight, 35,000 feet in the air, sipping coffee, listening to music over your earphones,
08:14when suddenly, a hunk of metal the size of a baseball rips through the plane like a bullet from space.
08:20No warning, no escape, just a silent demise falling from the sky at 17,000 miles per hour.
08:28Sounds like a disaster movie?
08:30Perhaps, but it's also a very real scenario, and this should be a wake-up call.
08:35Right now, Earth is being surrounded by thousands of pieces of space junk,
08:40like non-functioning satellites, rocket parts, or orbital shrapnel.
08:45Most burn up.
08:46Some don't.
08:47And aviation experts warn.
08:49It's only a matter of time before one of them punches a hole in a plane full of passengers.
08:55Think the sky is empty once you're above the clouds?
08:58Of course not.
08:59In fact, it's busier than ever, from both above and below.
09:04Every day, around 100,000 flights crisscross the globe.
09:09At the same time, thousands of satellites, old rocket stages, and debris fragments are zipping through space just a few
09:16hundred miles above your head.
09:18We've basically turned low Earth orbit into a junkyard, and commercial planes are flying just beneath it.
09:26It's like cruising down the highway while someone dumps metal scraps from a bridge overhead.
09:31It might miss you, until it doesn't.
09:33So what exactly is all this flying trash?
09:37It's called space junk.
09:39Basically, all the stuff we once shot into orbit that's now just floating uselessly around up there.
09:45Drifting, waiting to lose enough speed to come back to Earth.
09:49Think non-functioning satellites, spent rocket boosters, metal fragments from past missions,
09:55and the occasional wrench or bolt lost during a spacewalk.
09:59Right now, researchers say there are over 2,300 rocket bodies still circling our planet.
10:05And that's just the big stuff.
10:07In total, we're tracking tens of thousands of objects larger than 4 inches,
10:13and possibly millions of tiny pieces too small to see, but large enough to cause serious damage.
10:20Here's the scary bit.
10:22This junk zips around Earth at the speed of 17,000 miles per hour.
10:26That's fast enough to turn even a paint chip into a flying projectile.
10:31A piece the size of a coin could pierce a spacecraft or an airplane like paper.
10:37Most junk burns up in a fiery goodbye, but sometimes a stubborn chunk survives the fall.
10:45So far, no commercial airplane has been struck by falling space debris.
10:49Lucky us.
10:50Or lucky you.
10:52I don't fly that often, but luck doesn't last forever.
10:55There have already been plenty of close calls.
10:59Large chunks of junk have survived re-entry and crash-landed on Earth,
11:03sometimes near homes, farms, or even highways.
11:07In one case, a pressurized metal fuel tank from a rocket landed in Texas.
11:12In another, a long metal panel dropped into a remote field in Australia.
11:19In 2022, the situation became super serious for a few hours.
11:24Spain and France temporarily shut down parts of their airspace due to an uncontrolled re-entry of a Chinese rocket.
11:32Over 600 flights were delayed because no one could be certain where that chunk of metal might fall.
11:38That was the first time in history that air travel was interrupted because of space debris.
11:43And if current trends continue, it probably won't be the last.
11:48Now, picture that over the U.S. on a holiday weekend.
11:52Jam-packed airports, thousands of flights, and suddenly...
11:55Sorry folks, we might have some heat-resistant screws coming from space.
12:01Flights will be resumed soon.
12:03The problem is that re-entries can't always be predicted with pinpoint accuracy.
12:08Agencies often get just a few hours' notice, and the impact zone could stretch across hundreds of miles.
12:15So, aviation officials face a tough choice.
12:18Close huge chunks of airspace, or roll the dice with thousands of passengers in the sky.
12:24According to recent research, some of the world's busiest airspaces already face a 26% annual chance of being affected
12:32by an uncontrolled re-entry.
12:34That's more than one in four.
12:36And not because anyone's being reckless.
12:39It's just because the numbers are exploding.
12:43Over the past decade, the number of objects in low Earth orbit has doubled.
12:47And here's the real danger.
12:49The more crowded space becomes, the higher the chance that debris collides with more debris.
12:55Creating, duh, even more debris.
12:59It's called Kessler Syndrome.
13:01A kind of orbital domino effect where one collision triggers another, and another, until entire orbits become unusable.
13:09And with companies like SpaceX and national space agencies launching more and more stuff into space,
13:15we could be setting the stage for exactly that.
13:18Meanwhile, back on Earth, we're flying more than ever.
13:22Commercial air traffic has more than doubled since 2000.
13:25That means more people in the air, more planes in flight paths,
13:29and more chances for a tragic overlap between something falling and something flying.
13:35And when that moment comes, there may be no warning.
13:39And if that moment ever comes, we probably wouldn't even see it.
13:42I mean, before it hits the news.
13:44Even with all our fancy satellites, spotting a tiny metal thing dropping out of orbit is nearly impossible.
13:52But again, most debris doesn't make it to the ground.
13:55As these objects plummet through Earth's atmosphere,
13:57the intense heat from re-entry usually causes them to burn up completely.
14:01That's especially true for smaller or lightweight pieces like aluminum fragments or insulation.
14:08Also, even when stuff does survive re-entry, a mid-air collision with a plane is extremely rare.
14:14Planes cruise at 35,000 feet, while falling space junk comes screaming down from hundreds of miles up,
14:21whizzing past that height in seconds.
14:23The chances of a plane being in the exact spot at the exact time are incredibly slim.
14:28It's like tossing a dart from space and trying to hit a mosquito flying across a football field, while blindfolded.
14:35The timing, the alignment, the odds?
14:38Practically zero.
14:39But with more darts and more mosquitoes?
14:43That's why experts are still worried.
14:45The amount of space junk is growing fast.
14:47More stuff falling means more chances for something to go wrong.
14:51And while the odds of a direct strike remain low, the risk of aerospace disruption is very real.
15:00So, can't we just clean it up?
15:02You'd think that with all our high-tech satellites, space stations, and reusable rockets,
15:07someone would have invented a cosmic vacuum cleaner by now.
15:10But space cleanup is way more complicated than it sounds.
15:14For one, the junk is moving fast.
15:17Snagging this stuff is like trying to catch bullets, while being strapped to a rocket yourself.
15:22There's also the size problem.
15:25Some pieces are too small to track, and others are too big to ignore.
15:29Plus, no one can agree whose job it is to clean up the mess.
15:33If a country launches a satellite that later breaks apart and becomes debris,
15:37is it their job to retrieve it?
15:39So far, no one really knows.
15:42Okay, when said like that, it sounds impossible even to me.
15:46But I have faith in scientists.
15:49However, it's not all bad news.
15:52The European Space Agency is pushing for a zero-debris policy for future missions.
15:56They want every satellite and rocket launched to have a built-in plan for getting out of orbit safely.
16:03Meanwhile, scientists are working on robotic grippers,
16:06basically giant space claws that could one day grab junk and fling it into a controlled burn in Earth's atmosphere.
16:13This goes to show that the problem is understood, and while difficult, the cleanup is not impossible, if we address
16:20it in time.
16:21The sooner we start taking it seriously, the better the odds that your next flight stays boring and uneventful.
16:28You know, the way flights are supposed to be.
16:31Unless you sit by the window, then it's breathtaking and awe-inspiring.
16:36So the next time you're staring out your airplane window at 35,000 feet, relax.
16:41You're more likely to spill your coffee than get hit by space jump, or upgraded to first class by accident.
16:47Scientists, engineers, and even robot claws are already on the case.
16:52Space might be messy now, but we've cleaned up bigger messes before.
16:56And with the right moves, we can keep the skies safe for everyone.
17:00And who knows? Maybe in a few decades, you'll be booking a window seat for a flight out into space.
17:06Just make sure it comes with asteroid or junk insurance.
17:13That's it for today.
17:14So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
17:19Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.
Comments