If black-boxes are the only things that survive a plane crash, why don't they make airplanes out of the same material that they make black-boxes out of?
by 
Doomraider
ANSWERS: 39
-
It's not just the material that the black boxes are made of that makes they so likely to survive a crash, it's also the way they are made. If you tried to make a whole aircraft of those kinds of materials and that kind of construction, it wouldn't be able to fly. The other thing is that all the black boxes have to protect are relatively small recording devices that are designed to be fairly impervious to damage. Human beings are much more easily damaged, and can't be cocooned inside special materials, the way the black boxes are.
-
This question was already asked here : http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/34515 to quote : It's not just the material that the black boxes are made of that makes they so likely to survive a crash, it's also the way they are made. If you tried to make a whole aircraft of those kinds of materials and that kind of construction, it wouldn't be able to fly. The other thing is that all the black boxes have to protect are relatively small recording devices that are designed to be fairly impervious to damage. Human beings are much more easily damaged, and can't be cocooned inside special materials, the way the black boxes are.
-
Surely too exensive.
-
It just can't be done, it would be very expensive.
-
lol
-
Because our "brilliant" scientists and aerodynamic engineers haven't figured out how to make that black box material light enough for the plane to fly in the air.
-
i would guess that the plane would be too heavy and the black box is small which means its harder to break.
-
Cuase it wouldn't fly
-
it would be way to heavy to take off. and the black box is actually orange
-
its too heavy to make the plane out of the same material
-
The material that the black box is made of is too heavy. A whole plane made of the same material (All stainless steel), it would have a hard time getting off the ground and would be ridiculously expensive. Here is an amusing take on this: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_001.html
-
I asked someone this once and they said that the plane would be too heavy to fly. It sounded feasible.
-
The black box is made out of very heavy material (I'm not sure what exactly), but the plane would be too heavy to fly if it was constructed of the same stuff.
-
Honestly?...it comes down to cost, and the aerodynamics of flight.
-
too heavy.... and expensive.
-
Make it cheaper and lighter. We have the technology!
-
Making a little indestructible box isn't that difficult as you can make it fairly heavy but making a whole plane would be impossible, a plane has to be light to fly, and making indestructable planes wouldn't save any more lives. Look at cars, the more they crunch the more they absorb the impact while older cars would never crunch up so the passengers would get the full impact.
-
Great idea!
-
"Black boxes" are made of the same materials as conventional aircraft are. They are constructed in such a way to withstand high impact loads and to an extent fire resistant. In actuality they are painted red.
-
lol- damn dude your shot out...i like that!
-
It would be too heavy to fly.
-
Why do we still use flight to travel..Im sure there are magnetic propulsion systems that are much more efficient to run and better for the environment, would this be a better solution to global travel..
-
for starters the "Black Box" is not indestructible thats why they have at least 2 and sometime 3 on board, secondly F=MS^2 so different materials would not make that much of a difference since any object inside the cabin traveling at 165 miles per hour or there abouts is a deadly combination when it hits your body .. Now redesigning the seats and the belly structure might improve survivability, which they have in some cases but then there's the fire issue, and personally I would rather die on impact rather than sit there and be burned alive in my seat ... ~Nemo~
-
Can i get a car made out of it? I dont drive 165 mph ;)
-
if you made planes out of it they'd never crash because they'd weigh too much to get off the ground.
-
Cause its re-inforced iron. It weighs way to much to make a plane out of.
-
You then would have a flying tank. We do not yet have anti-gravity technology which would be needed to get it to fly. That technology would be a safeguard for the passengers also since it would prevent falling when the motors fail.
-
I thought this was an excellent question. Why not? Why were you DRd? +5
-
Aircraft must be made out of specially designed composites, or the lightest metals, to get maximum lift and minimum drag. Pigs, dogs, and tanks do not fly, even if you put wings on them. The black box is one insignificantly tiny non-composite heavy item in the main of light materials.
-
Quite simply, it would be too heavy to fly....
-
1. Black boxes sometimes are destroyed. That is why they usually have at least two black boxes, one in the front and one in the rear of the aircraft, so that one of them will escape the worst of the crash or fire. 2. The aircraft would never get off the ground, because they would be too heavy. Same reason police don't wear armour suits: a fully bulletproof suit would weigh tons.
-
it would take a crane to move it and lift it. good thinking.
-
Dont't know but good question. +5
-
The plane would be far to heavy! Even if it was made to be as rugged as the orange colored black box, the passengers could not survive more g-force than they could right now. Survivability would actually decrease in g-force related deaths as a more resilient material would transfer life ending g-force instead of absorbing / deflecting it through deformation, causing an actual decrease in survivability. If I recall correctly, aortic rupture typically occurs at around 21 G's. If that force is exceeded for any reason, it's permanent lights out.
-
The weight would triple the cost.
-
It would be expensive, and I'm not sure if the planes would be light enough to fly.
-
If the english language was a computer Operating System, it would be Windows.
-
What a great idea. Dont know if it would fly...But wouldnt it be Nice.
-
The main reason is that the "black box" (they are actually usually orange) is made of stainless steel. If the entire airfram was made of steel, rather than aluminum and practice, it wouldn't be able to take off. Flight data recorders are typically a quarter inch of stainless steel in thickness and on commercial aircraft are often surrounded by a liquid filled bladder to prevent loss of data in the fire. +3
Thriftymaid RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC