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Study shows electrically charging planes have reduced risk of being struck by lightning
To avoid lightning strikes, flights are typically rerouted around stormy regions of the sky. Now, MIT engineers are proposing a new way to reduce a plane’s lightning risk, with an onboard system that would protect a plane by electrically charging it. The proposal may seem counterintuitive, but the team found that if a plane were charged to just the right level, its likelihood of being struck by lighting would be significantly reduced. (en.brinkwire.com) More...
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yes, seems counterintuitive, until I read the article explaining why this is so. Makes sense now. Thanks to the poster for this interesting piece.
Thx...and had exactly the same thought when I read the headline. Then I dug into some of their points on composites.
"To avoid lightning strikes, flights are typically rerouted around stormy regions of the sky." Yeah.. that's EXACTLY why they are routed around storms. Not for passenger comfort or to avoid wind shear/hail stones, but for lightning.
