飛機(jī)的窗戶，原來藏著這種心機(jī)！

There are roughly 102,465 commercial flights each day which, over a year, equates to about four billion air passengers per year.

世界上每天都有大概102,465個(gè)班次的商業(yè)航班，換算成一年，差不多就是40億人次。

That's over half of the world's population who've sat on a flight, often for hours on end, and had time to think about planes and ask questions about them.

這所有坐過飛機(jī)的人已經(jīng)超過地球人口的一半了，而且他們通常一坐就是幾小時(shí)，有充足的時(shí)間來思考飛機(jī)的方方面面并對它們提出問題。

If you've ever stared out the window as your plane takes off, you will have seen a tiny hole in your window.

如果你曾經(jīng)在飛機(jī)起飛的時(shí)候盯著窗外看，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)窗子上是有小洞的。

At first, it may seem like a weird addition, especially in something that's carrying a lot of people at a great height, but they're there for a very important reason: to stop the cabin from depressuring.

乍看之下，這個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)很詭異，尤其是它還出現(xiàn)在一個(gè)載著這么多人、飛得這么高的東西上，但其實(shí)它是有重要作用的：防止機(jī)艙減壓。

As the plane gains altitude, the air pressure outside drops compared to the regulated air pressure inside the cabin.

隨著飛機(jī)的飛行高度增加，飛機(jī)外面的氣壓會(huì)低于飛機(jī)內(nèi)收到調(diào)控的氣壓。

The difference between the two puts physical stress on the windows - made up of three panes of glass.

兩側(cè)的氣壓差會(huì)對窗戶造成物理壓力。(飛機(jī)的窗子是由3層玻璃組成的)

There's a small air gap in between the middle and outer panes and the hole is actually in the middle pane.

在中層玻璃和外層玻璃之間有一個(gè)空氣層，而這些小洞實(shí)際上是位于中層玻璃上的。

If you ever wondered what it's called - it's a "breather" or "bleed hole" - and it balances the pressure between the cabin and the air gap.

你可能好奇過它們叫什么。它們被稱為“呼吸孔”或者“出血孔”——它們能平衡機(jī)艙與空氣層之間的壓力。

The outer pane takes the pressure, whereas the middle pane acts as a fail-safe just in case that trusty outer pane fails. Perish the thought.

承受壓力的是外層玻璃，而中層玻璃則是一層保險(xiǎn)，以防那層可靠的外層玻璃突然時(shí)效了。不過你還是打消這個(gè)想法吧。

So we now know the crucial function of those tiny holes in aeroplane windows which previously might have made you panic mildly.

好，現(xiàn)在我們已經(jīng)知道飛機(jī)窗戶上那些小洞有多么重要的作用了，而這玩意以前可能會(huì)給你帶來點(diǎn)小恐慌。