Why do your ears pop when you’re on a train that goes underground or comes up, while this doesn’t happen when you’re going up or down in an elevator?

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Why do your ears pop when you’re on a train that goes underground or comes up, while this doesn’t happen when you’re going up or down in an elevator?

In: Physics

Anonymous 0 Comments

Pressure in the tunnel is higher due to train speed and air trapped in the tunnel colliding. This makes the air pressure in your ear increase and once the train clears the tunnel air pressure returns to normal causing the pop. The air pressure in buildings is consistent and elevators are designed to move slowly enough to not cause pressure to build up in the shaft. Theoretically if an elevator could do this it could also shatter the windows on the upper floors from the pressure extremes