http://kwc.org/blog/ Latest comments for "MythBusters: Explosive Decompression" en-us Wed, 20 Jul 2005 03:45:46 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://kwc.org/blog/archives/2004/2004-01-18.mythbusters_explosive_decompression.html#comments <p>The myth from the movie American Grafitti where the diff was ripped out of the police car should have been tested on a car with leaf spring suspension as in the movie not coil spring. </p> <p>- Shane Campbell</p> comment003896@http://kwc.org/blog/ Wed, 20 Jul 2005 03:45:46 -0800 http://kwc.org/blog/archives/2004/2004-01-18.mythbusters_explosive_decompression.html#comments <p>Explosive decompression is a bit tricky to simulate in that way.<br /> Decompression in flight and on the ground are two separate aspects :</p> <p>1 - On Ground : incidents have occured where crew have opened an aircraft door before pressure equalisation, with dramatic results. These range from ripped off hands(!) when the door suddenly blows open, to the crew member being litterally sucked out of the aircraft and flying quite some distance, unfortunately with fatal consequences.<br /> Correct, you won't get a shredding effect around the opening in the aircraft, after all, this isn't a balloon ( ever tried pushing a pin into a blown-up balloon ? now put some adhesive tape over a spot and stick the pin through that - no explosion, just a gradual pressure release )</p> <p>2- In Flight : here you have the added aspect that the aircraft is travelling at approx 800km/h, nothing to be sniffed at. Explosion will not occur, but you will get shredding due to the combination of pressure difference and travelling speed. This has happened quite spectacularly in a number of cases, with entire body sections being ripped off. In some cases, the aircraft can continue to fly ( once a boeing 747 managed to land in Hong-Kong with half the rear top fuselage missing due top a bomb explosion. A lot of the passengers did get torn out of their seats or with their seats, but most of them made it back in one piece and alive).<br /> Working in the aircraft industry, these are facts, not myths, and the manufacturers do everything they can to prevent such destructive failures, and learn from past lessons.<br /> Remember the old Comet jetliner ? it suffered a fatal design flaw (windows in the ceiling without rounded edges) which led to spectacular failures leading to decompression and the loss of a number of machines with all passengers and crew. The result was that these were pulled from service.</p> <p>- JMG</p> comment001417@http://kwc.org/blog/ Thu, 12 Aug 2004 00:29:29 -0800 http://kwc.org/blog/archives/2004/2004-01-18.mythbusters_explosive_decompression.html#comments <p>send me lots of old milatiry airpaln myths<br /> </p> <p>- PJ Cardinale</p> comment000793@http://kwc.org/blog/ Sat, 01 May 2004 15:37:36 -0800 http://kwc.org/blog/archives/2004/2004-01-18.mythbusters_explosive_decompression.html#comments <p>MYTH BUSTERS ROCKS</p> <p>- <a href="http://aol" rel="nofollow">joe</a></p> comment000355@http://kwc.org/blog/ Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:36:01 -0800