Hey, guys, what's up? Let me introduce myself: I'm a traveler, and you're likely to see my
photo next to the word "travel" in the dictionary. Just kidding! But I do travel a lot, although
not as much as I could. My problem is planes. Well, not planes themselves... Ok, I think
I'm ready to admit it - I'm terrified of turbulence. Or rather USED to be terrified.
The thing is that turbulence really stood in my way when it came to living out my dream
(that is, to visit all the world's continents). Every time I headed for a new country, things
went pretty smoothly at first. I arrived at the airport, passed a security check and passport
control, and bought some unnecessary stuff in a duty-free store, just to distract myself
from what was about to happen. Already on the plane, I squeezed the armrests to express
my "excitement" about the take-off... and that's pretty much all, because, however paradoxical
it may sound, I'm not afraid of flying! And then it started. The plane began to make
these little jerky movements from side to side, and then it just dropped down and fell,
fell, fell into some kind of bottomless black hole... Or at least, that's how it felt. Every
time it happened, I made tremendous efforts to not start screaming, "We're all gonna die!"
and promised myself to find some calm and relaxing hobby: knitting or drawing perhaps?
But one day, I realized that I had to put an end to this world of misery and fear, and
I went to a lecture led by an experienced pilot with 20,000 flight hours under his belt.
Well, the man turned out to be a real professional and a great lecturer as well, because he made
things as clear as a bell! You may not believe it, but both mathematicians
and physicists haven't been able to solve the mystery of turbulence yet! The problem
is that while turbulence looks simple on the outside (nothing's happening, then wham-bam,
your plane seems to have gone into a milk-shaker!), we know very little about the underlying physics
of this phenomenon. To put it simply, turbulence is chaos. It
occurs when bursts of energy get into the air your plane's flying through. And this
energy is exactly what causes changes in the pressure and speed of airflow. But the worst
thing for those who feel more than just uncomfortable during turbulence is that it's unpredictable.
Wait, how so? Can't experts, equipped with modern technologies, calculate where turbulence
is going to occur? Don't forget about the chaos, which is one
of the turbulence's main ingredients. Imagine a fast-flowing river gathering around a support
leg of a bridge. Some droplets and even molecules of water start to collide with the beam and
with one another. And before long, the molecules of water around the bridge's leg are moving
in all directions and at all speeds, and that's what we call chaos! But what's happening with
the water is also turbulence! Do you think you’d be able to draw a formula that would
describe this phenomenon? Me neither. The lecturer kept talking, but the word "unpredictable"
was like a huge red flag waving in my mind. Unpredictable means dangerous, right? But
just as I was about to start panicking, the pilot moved to the next part of his speech.
Planes experience turbulence when they're flying through eddies, which are pockets of
rising and falling air. There are different situations that make turbulence more likely,
for example, when a plane takes off or lands in windy weather or when it flies through
layers of clouds or over mountains. Also, turbulence may be caused by the wings of the
very airplane you're flying on! But the strongest and most unpleasant (and unpredictable) is
"clear air turbulence" which occurs at high altitudes.
No-one has figured out how to avoid turbulence altogether yet, but pilots know how to minimize
its effects. First of all, during take-off and landing, they keep the plane away from
other aircraft to avoid the influence of wake vortex (which is turbulence created by a plane).
On top of that, the weather radar informs pilots about electrical storms and turbulence
happening nearby, which helps the plane to skirt these areas. In such cases, pilots can't
use the autopilot, so they manage the situation manually. Also, airplane routes are made in
such a way that the risk of turbulence is minimal.
Ok, that's all good and well, but what if severe turbulence hits all of a sudden? Can
it damage a plane seriously enough to make it fall? It turns out that nowadays, it's
a very unlikely scenario. Planes are made to take a huge amount of strain and stress.
Plus, aircraft have an enormous safety margin; that's why even really bad turbulence will
never exceed the plane's limits. About 90% of pilots won't ever experience turbulence
strong enough to bend a wing spar. Besides, the wings are made to withstand 1.5 times
more load than is usually experienced during even the bumpiest flight.
If you prefer window seats, you've probably seen wings wobbling when you're flying through
turbulence. It does look scary, but you can relax. What you see is nothing in comparison
to what a plane experiences when it undergoes testing. Most modern passenger aircrafts can
flex their wing tips up to nearly 90 degrees! Airplane wings have to be flexible because
a very rigid wing would just break in extreme conditions. The same approach is used when
skyscrapers are built: they sway a bit, and it makes them more robust.
But back to aircraft: although your plane won't go down during even the most severe
bouts of turbulence, you might spill your drink all over yourself and your neighbor!
Unfortunately, that's not the only unpleasant thing that happens to passengers during turbulence.
When you hear a flight attendant say that you need to get back to your seat and fasten
your seat belt, do it. Even if your bladder isn't particularly happy about this decision.
Turbulence is the main reason for injuries to passengers during a flight, and I mean
not only bruises and a lost voice but also broken bones! By buckling up, you ensure your
safety and won't fly out of your seat. You've probably heard this one before, but even if
the "wear your seat belt" sign isn't illuminated, it's still better to stay buckled. As you
remember, the most severe turbulence that happens at high altitudes can start all of
a sudden; and pilots may not have time to warn passengers about the potential danger.
But having worn your seat belt throughout the flight, don't make bathroom trips just
before the plane starts to descend, and don't unbuckle right after the take-off. Turbulence
is nothing to worry about. Like at all. The plane is going to be Ok, and you're going
to be fine too, full stop. Phew...
How do you feel about turbulence, and what was the worst case you've experienced? Let
me know down in the comments! If you learned something new today, then give this video
a like, share it with a friend, and here are some more cool videos to check out from the
Bright Side of life!