Okay. One day I was sitting at the airport, counting
the cash I had just pick-pocketed – no not really, just checking whether you were paying
attention -- and I noticed a couple of planes parked side by side near the terminal. They looked almost the same, but one of them
had a rounded nose while the other one was pointed. Well, it got me thinking: what's the difference? Who nose? Ha. Most commercial aircraft, for example, the
mammoth Airbus A380, which can seat up to 868 passengers, or the somewhat smaller Boeing
747, have blunt noses. On the other hand, several models of passenger
airliners have sharp noses. And all military airplanes have pointed noses. So, what gives? Let me get straight to the point: the manufacturers
decide on the shape of a plane's nose depending on the speed at which it's going to travel. There are two types of planes: subsonic (meaning
their speed is slower than the speed of sound) and supersonic (the ones that fly faster than
you know what). Subsonic planes are equipped with a rounded
nose. During the flight, it allows the air to move
around the airplane more freely. In other words, when an airplane with a blunt
nose pushes the air, it rolls over the fuselage without any serious resistance. Now, what would happen if a supersonic plane
had a blunt nose? Imagine a machine that’s flying at breakneck
speed (to be precise, at a speed of more than 767 miles per hour - which is how fast sound
travels). When the air first meets the rounded nose
of a subsonic airplane, it produces a shock wave. If you're not flying very fast (well, relatively),
it doesn't matter. But at hypersonic speeds, the created shock
would be too strong, and could possibly lead to big problems, including serious damage
to the fuselage. The solution turned out to be quite simple
- to build supersonic aircraft with sharp, pointed noses. This way, the airplane manages to minimize
the resistance caused by the shock after the speed of sound is reached. For example, just look at the famous Concorde
plane, which stopped flying only in 2003. With its pointed nose, this supersonic passenger
airliner could fly at a maximum speed of more than twice the speed of sound. However, there’s another curious thing about
supersonic jets. Not only do they need to have a pointed nose,
but they also have to be made out of a super strong material. The faster a plane flies after passing the
sound barrier, the hotter it becomes. That's why some of the fastest aircraft are
made of titanium. This material doesn't deform or melt at the
blistering speeds they reach. On the other hand, should a plane accelerate
to the speed of a spacecraft, it would become so hot that even titanium wouldn’t be able
to hold up. So how do spacecraft deal with this problem? By having blunt noses! I know, it may sound paradoxical, but in their
case, the rounded nose helps them to create a bow-shaped shock wave after reaching supersonic
speeds. This kind of shock wave also starts in front
of a spaceship, but doesn't actually touch it. As a result, the material a spacecraft is
made of doesn't heat up as much as it would with a pointed nose. At the same time, rounded noses have one serious
drawback: the spacecraft equipped with them consume too much fuel, which costs a lot of
money. That's why manufacturers only equip space
shuttles with blunt noses if they absolutely have to. Would you like to fly a supersonic jet with
a pointed nose? Tell me your opinion in the comment section
below! In any case, there’s a chance that in several
decades it won't matter whether a plane has a pointed or a blunt nose, because aircraft
might start to look totally different altogether. For example, according to one of the predictions,
planes in the future might come without windows whatsoever! It’ll supposedly make the fuselage stronger,
which, in turn, will allow aircraft to fly at incredible speeds. Likewise, air travel is likely to become much
greener by 2050, thanks to commercial airplanes becoming fully electric. It would cut down on harmful greenhouse gas
emissions and save tons of money on fuel. Besides, electric planes would be much quieter
than the ones flying today. Currently, the main goal is to create a battery
that would be able to power an airplane throughout the whole flight. And at the same time, this battery shouldn't
be insanely heavy or massive. Unfortunately, right now, manufacturers don't
have the technology that would combine these two requirements. Also, in several decades, planes might lose
their tails! Should airliners become electric, they could
be equipped with a special system that would provide thrust in any needed direction, not
only backwards like today. As a result, there wouldn’t be any more
need for additional control pieces, including the tail! Another change in the aircraft of the future
may relate to the material they’d be made of. The problem is that the heavier a plane is,
the more fuel it needs to fly, and the more expensive the flights are. That's why, at some point, you might witness
aluminum planes turning into carbon fiber ones! One of the benefits of building planes from
carbon fiber is that the engineers would be able to extend the wings vertically, which
would mean additional efficiency during the flight. Also, the plane's shell would be way tougher. This way, if a stray bird crashed into the
airliner, it wouldn't even leave a small dent. There might also be some unusual looking and
oddly shaped aircraft. For example, the airplanes of the future might
get a box wing design. Engineers claim that this idea would become
reality thanks to super lightweight, nonmetallic materials that could be used during the construction. The box wing design could make future planes'
engines five times more effective than the ones used today. Another cool aircraft project is called the
Sky Whale; this plane may easily become the largest passenger airliner ever. It would dwarf the biggest plane of our times,
the Airbus A380-800, which typically seats 575 passengers. The Sky Whale would be able to transport 755
passengers at a time. It would have three passenger decks, and several
viewing platforms upstairs. Interestingly, even with such impressive characteristics,
the future mammoth aircraft would use less fuel, and produce significantly less noise. What's more, airport runways wouldn't have
to be any longer: the plane's powerful engines would allow the machine to take off with more
power. Anyway, experts say that while the construction
of the Sky Whale isn't likely to start any time soon, all the components necessary for
building this giant can easily be manufactured. One more idea is a plane with massive wings
which would have the body built into them. Theoretically, this innovation is supposed
to make the plane more aerodynamic. The engines of such a flying machine would
be turboelectric - that's the most effective way to make them greener, and to minimize
the amount of noise they would produce. As for the shape of the plane, it might look
more like a UFO or a triangle, which would reduce the drag during take-off and save precious
fuel. And now, how do you feel about the "Flying
V" aircraft? Admittedly, this machine probably doesn’t
look like anything you've ever seen before. On the other hand, such an unusual shape is
supposed to make the plane super energy efficient! Also, the V-shaped aircraft would be able
to travel ultra-long-haul distances. The main peculiarity of this airliner is that
the passenger cabin, fuel tanks, and cargo hold would be in the wings, which would give
the plane an exciting form. At 180 ft long, the plane would seat 314 passengers. Sorry, no mention here about the leg room. And the best thing about the Flying V? There would be no need to change the airports'
infrastructure, for example, hangars, gates, or runways - the airliner wouldn't take up
any more space! So whether it’s blunt or pointed, now you
nose! Hey, if you learned something new today, then
give the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other videos I think you'll
enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
