Eli5: Why is black box (from plane crash) put in a container filled with water when retrieved from the ocean?
In: Engineering
Salt really accelerates corrosion, but the corrosion will really only progress when exposed to oxygen and there’s a lot more oxygen in air than water
By taking the box out of the ocean and putting it into a bucket of water they keep any innards which may have been exposed to salt water from being exposed to air which will provide the oxygen needing for the corrosion to progress. When it gets to its final destination it will be removed from the water and then cleaned, but you don’t want it to spend a few days traveling and degrading because its exposed to the air.
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