Charging Planes to Prevent Lightning Strikes

Mar-13-18 Outfitting airplanes with a negative charge could help them avoid mid-air lightning strikes.

Most airplanes are hit by lightning in the air at least once a year, which usually does not cause damage but can be very alarming for the passengers and cause inspection delays.

To help reduce these instances, the team from MIT proposed a system that would place a temporary negative charge on the plane keep the plane’s charge balanced as it flies through an ambient electric field. According to the team, an automated control system on the place would monitor the electric field and detect possible ‘leader formation,’ triggering the actuators to create a current that charges the plane in the appropriate direction to prevent the strike.

Image Credit: MIT/Joan Montanya/Polytechnic University of Catalonia)

More Info about this Invention:

[CO.UK]
[NEWS.MIT.EDU]

---