WEBVTT - How Stealth Technology Work

0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.600
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com,

0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:09.000
<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens high immercial Brain with today's question, how

0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:13.720
<v Speaker 1>does stealth technology work? The idea behind radar is simple.

0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.759
<v Speaker 1>It sends out a burst of radio energy, which is

0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:20.520
<v Speaker 1>then reflected back by any object that happens to encounter.

0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:24.200
<v Speaker 1>The radar antenna measures the time it takes for the

0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:27.360
<v Speaker 1>reflection to arrive, and with that information it can tell

0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.600
<v Speaker 1>how far away the object is. The metal body of

0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:34.199
<v Speaker 1>an airplane is a very good reflector for radar signals,

0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:37.240
<v Speaker 1>and this makes it easy to find and track airplanes

0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:41.000
<v Speaker 1>with radar equipment. The goal of stealth technology is to

0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.280
<v Speaker 1>make an airplane invisible to radar. There are two different

0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:48.199
<v Speaker 1>ways to create invisibility. The airplane could be shaped so

0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:51.680
<v Speaker 1>that any radar signals it reflects are reflected away from

0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.960
<v Speaker 1>the radar equipment, or the airplane could be covered in

0:00:55.040 --> 0:01:00.080
<v Speaker 1>materials that absorb radar signals. Most conventional aircraft have a

0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:03.880
<v Speaker 1>rounded shape. This shape makes them aerodynamic, but it also

0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:08.280
<v Speaker 1>creates a very efficient radar reflector. The round shape means

0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.240
<v Speaker 1>that no matter where the radar signal hits the plane,

0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.800
<v Speaker 1>some of the signal gets reflected back to the radar antenna.

0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.560
<v Speaker 1>A stealth aircraft, on the other hand, is made up

0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:21.959
<v Speaker 1>of completely flat surfaces and very sharp edges. When the

0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:25.560
<v Speaker 1>radar signal hits a stealth plane, the signal reflects at

0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:30.119
<v Speaker 1>an angle away from the radar antenna. In addition, surfaces

0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:33.280
<v Speaker 1>on stealth aircraft can be treated so they absorb rate

0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.759
<v Speaker 1>our energy as well. The overall result is that a

0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:40.440
<v Speaker 1>stealth aircraft can have a radar signature of a small

0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:44.480
<v Speaker 1>bird rather than an airplane. The only exception is when

0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.720
<v Speaker 1>the plane banks. There will often be a moment when

0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.760
<v Speaker 1>one of the panels of the plane will perfectly reflect

0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:54.400
<v Speaker 1>a burst of radar energy back to the radar antenna.

0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:57.680
<v Speaker 1>Do you have any ideas or suggestions for this podcast?

0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.680
<v Speaker 1>If so, please send me an email at podcast at

0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.440
<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com. For more on this and

0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:08.200
<v Speaker 1>thousands of other topics, go to how stuff works dot com. M. M.