Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com, where smart Happens high immercial Brain with today's question, how does stealth technology work? The idea behind radar is simple. It sends out a burst of radio energy, which is then reflected back by any object that happens to encounter. The radar antenna measures the time it takes for the reflection to arrive, and with that information it can tell
how far away the object is. The metal body of an airplane is a very good reflector for radar signals, and this makes it easy to find and track airplanes with radar equipment. The goal of stealth technology is to make an airplane invisible to radar. There are two different ways to create invisibility. The airplane could be shaped so that any radar signals it reflects are reflected away from the radar equipment, or the airplane could be covered in
materials that absorb radar signals. Most conventional aircraft have a rounded shape. This shape makes them aerodynamic, but it also creates a very efficient radar reflector. The round shape means that no matter where the radar signal hits the plane, some of the signal gets reflected back to the radar antenna. A stealth aircraft, on the other hand, is made up of completely flat surfaces and very sharp edges. When the radar signal hits a stealth plane, the signal reflects at
an angle away from the radar antenna. In addition, surfaces on stealth aircraft can be treated so they absorb rate our energy as well. The overall result is that a stealth aircraft can have a radar signature of a small bird rather than an airplane. The only exception is when the plane banks. There will often be a moment when one of the panels of the plane will perfectly reflect a burst of radar energy back to the radar antenna. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for this podcast?
If so, please send me an email at podcast at how stuff works dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics, go to how stuff works dot com. M. M.