Kenapa jendela pesawat bulat, bukan kotak?

Why are airplane windows round, not square?

Tahun 1954, dua pesawat jet de Havilland Comet pecah di udara. Sudut tajam badan pesawat memusatkan tegangan dan memicu retak lelah logam, sejak itu jendela dibuat membulat.

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Penjelasannya

Lain kali naik pesawat, perhatikan jendelanya: semuanya melengkung atau oval, tidak pernah persegi. Itu bukan sekadar pilihan desain, melainkan pelajaran yang dibayar dengan nyawa.

Pada 1952, de Havilland Comet dari Inggris menjadi pesawat jet komersial pertama di dunia, terbang lebih tinggi dan lebih cepat dari apa pun sebelumnya. Kabinnya bertekanan agar penumpang bisa bernapas di ketinggian 35.000 kaki, tetapi jendelanya persegi. Dalam dua tahun, dua pesawat Comet pecah di udara dan jatuh ke laut tanpa korban selamat.

Penyelidik menemukan bahwa sudut tajam 90 derajat memusatkan tegangan yang sangat besar, sehingga retak lelah logam merobek badan pesawat. Membulatkan sudut menghilangkan titik tegangan itu untuk selamanya, dan menyelamatkan jutaan penerbangan sesudahnya.

Diagram dari video

Diagram GeeGit: Look out the window next time you fly: every single passenger window is curved or oval. Never square. — “Look out the window next time you fly: every single passenger window is curved or oval. Never square.”

Diagram GeeGit: In 1952, the British de Havilland Comet became the world's first commercial jetliner, flying higher and faster than anything before. — “In 1952, the British de Havilland Comet became the world's first commercial jetliner, flying higher and faster than anything before.”

Diagram GeeGit: Its cabin was pressurized so passengers could breathe at thirty-five thousand feet. But its windows were square. — “Its cabin was pressurized so passengers could breathe at thirty-five thousand feet. But its windows were square.”

Transkrip video (English)

Look out the window next time you fly: every single passenger window is curved or oval. Never square.

That is not a design choice. It is a lesson written in blood.

In 1952, the British de Havilland Comet became the world's first commercial jetliner, flying higher and faster than anything before.

Its cabin was pressurized so passengers could breathe at thirty-five thousand feet. But its windows were square.

Within two years, two Comets shattered mid-air and plunged into the sea. Zero survivors.

Investigators discovered that sharp ninety-degree corners concentrated immense stress, causing metal fatigue cracks to rip open the fuselage.

Rounding the corners eliminated that stress point forever, saving millions of flights that followed.

Sumber

RAE Comet Inquiry Report (1955)
FAA Historical Archives

Diagram digambar ulang dan disederhanakan oleh GeeGit. Narasi video: suara AI.

Masih soal Sains

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