2024-03-11 09:01:22
Washington: We often wonder how planes work. How do they get into the air and stay there safely? We think less about the everyday work that goes on aboard a ship. Communicating with air, heating food and drinks, and even flushing toilets are still a subject of curiosity for people. Airplanes fly at an average speed of 800 kilometers per hour. During this time they go up to a height of 40,000 feet from the ground. It is not easy to heat food or flush the toilet at such high speeds and altitudes. In such a situation, know what is the science behind it.
There is science behind everything in the plane
Speaking to CNN, Al St. Germain, an aviation industry consultant who has worked for airlines including Delta and United, says, “With almost anything in an aircraft, you realize how much goes into it from an engineering perspective – Even just getting food. Everything on an airplane is twice as hard as on the ground.” Safety is of utmost importance to an airline. In such a situation, many times the science that works on the ground does not work in the airplane.
No water is used for flushing
Using water to flush airplane toilets is prohibited due to aircraft weight restrictions. In such a situation, air is used instead of water to flush the toilet in the plane. Different air pressures are used for flushing. The design of this system was originally patented by James Kemper in 1975. Aircraft waste tanks that collect toilet waste are usually located at the rear of the aircraft. In many aircraft these are also fitted at the front.
Waste is collected through vacuum
When you press the flush button, a valve opens at the bottom of the toilet bowl, connecting it to a pipe below. That pipe is connected to the waste tank. Opening the valve creates a vacuum in the pipe which sucks the contents of the bowl. says Nigel Jones, an aircraft engineering expert at Kingston University in London. This system is like your vacuum cleaner. “As soon as you press the button, it opens the valve – and as the valve opens, the suction pulls it out. Then the valve closes,” he said.
The vacuum system becomes active as soon as it flies in the air.
The vacuum effect is constantly going on when the plane is in the air — we don’t hear it until we open the valve and connect the toilet to the system, says Jones. However, when the aircraft is on the ground, there is no differential pressure – meaning the toilet flush is operated by a pump, which creates a vacuum in the tank. As the plane takes off into the air, and differential pressure builds up in the tank, a vacuum naturally forms and the pump shuts off.
This is why toilet sheets are so clean
Toilet sheets have a layer of Teplon. Nothing sticks to it. In such a situation, they become completely clean due to air pressure. Jones says that as soon as the valve opens, a rush of air clears everything. Airlines choose how many toilets they want on the plane and where they want them. Jones says that depending on the size of the aircraft, there is a minimum number of toilets, but the number can be increased if the airlines wish.