Gizmodo has a scary photo showing a lightning bolt striking an airplane taking off at Osaka’s airport recently, then hitting the ground. There’s an even scarier video on the site.
Apparently lightning is not dangerous for airliners, since the charge just flows around their aluminum skin, but still… Gizmodo says no plane has crashed in the US because of lightning bolts in 40 years, even though every airliner in the country could get hit at least once, according to statistics.
But they also wonder “can anyone explain to this ignorant (me) person how 100 trillion (million million) watts can hit a plane and nothing happens to the electronics inside, while my cell can wreak havoc emitting just a few microwaves?”
“while my cell can wreak havoc emitting just a few microwaves?”
Except that such a claim is bogus - mobile phones don’t cause problems for planes. They cause problems for the networks they’re flying over. But if people thought that using them would cause their plane to crash they won’t use them, whereas if being told it would only inconvenience others they probably wouldn’t care.
It’s the same reason lightning can’t hurt you in a car, the charge flows around the metal body and into the ground. Planes also have something called lightning dissipation vanes on the trailing edges of wings and tail surfaces which are basically these little metal wires sticking out of the back where the energy discharges back into the air. The electronics don’t fry because they’re heavily shielded.
Mobile phones actually can cause problems for planes mate. Some planes have signals routed internally from control nodes to servo motor nodes, and the cell phone signals CAN superimpose themselves and send wacky orders to the control surfaces.
Seriously, do you think that Air crew and pilots invent extra work for themselves on the spur of the moment, and then COUNTRIES pass laws controlling their citizens on a whim?.
“Hey, Roger, why don’t we tell the rubes they can’t wear red, because it angers the pursers, that should be good for fifty extra arguments a day with the punters, just what we need, isn’t it”.
Even airport security, who think my bottle of Pocari Sweat and nail clippers are part of an al Qaeda plot, don’t think there’s any reason I can’t bring my cell phone on a plane. I believe them over the flight attendants.
They’re also safe around medical equipment and pacemakers, for that matter.
Why? What does your average airport doorman know about the finer workings of aircraft?
I gather that mobile phones were banned because of the chance that they can interfere rather than any actual direct evidence. Although that might have been the reasoning for such things as video cameras rather than something like a cellphone that does transmit signals.
If anyone here watches MythBusters they explored this myth once and the conclusion was that so far there was no effect on avionics but since new phones come out practically monthly the FAA decided to put a blanket ban on everything rather than test each new individual phone. I have no idea why cellphone usage isn’t allowed and I’m a flight instructor.
I don’t think anybody really knows, besides the Central Bureaucracy of course!!
Two big reasons why cellphones are banned - 1) they initially had problems connecting, as they’d be hopping from cell tower to cell tower *much* quicker than they’re designed to handle, and 2) it takes away from the inflight phone revenue. I’ll leave it to you to decide which is the current reason.
No way are current cellphones able to affect avionics, not with the level of shielding in modern aircraft.
Oooh! Oooh! I guess “2″! Do I get a prize?
Faraday cage abyone? That’s why nobody in HK can set up wireless without help. Very common problem here.
Sorry should be “anyone”! I still can’t spell.
A plane I was on was struck by lightning as it was getting ready to land at the old Nagoya airport. There was a bright flash, which was followed immediately by a loud sound like a hammer giving a mighty bang to the plane’s body. The pilot came on afterwards to confirm it was indeed a lightning strike, but that there was nothing to worry about. We landed without incident, but I’d rather not go through that experience again!