An interesting thought process Kevin and coincidentally, the same
path that the designers of the =9CHindenburg=9D followed, reaso
ning
that it would give the envelope protection from lightening and UV
damage. What they failed to appreciate was that that the aluminium
oxide based paint they chose to use was also highly inflammable. It
is now widely believed that it was a lightning strike that ignited
the painted fabric as the Hindenburg docked at Lakehurst. Admittedly,
your Europa might not be filled with hydrogen, but resulting
pyrotechnics would be something to behold!
Nigel
On 21/02/2012 21:36, K BURNS wrote: All, Metal aircraft benefit
---From the Faraday cage effect , as the strike tracks across the surface
of the airframe and exits through a point on opposite surface. Why
can we not have a layer of conductive paint to create a Faraday cage
? The top most layer would be easiest for electrical conductivity,
but base coats would do a similar job in protecting the airframe
below. Seems others have used this technique before
-http://www.aztechnology.com/PDFs/materials-catalog.pdf I got to
thinking what protected the wooden gliders soaring Cu-nims in early
days of soaring ? Could it have been the aluminium powder in the
dope ( used in base coats to protect the cotton fabric and wood from
UV damage) therefore creating a Faraday cage ? Constructive
thoughts please.. Kevin Burns
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