Re: Blacker than Black

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There is no technical reason  for stealth planes being black. In fact
skunk works had them in a blue-gray and pink-gray to fade into dusky
skies, but the perforce did not think that was manly and decided on sexy
black instead.

Derk

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----- Reply message -----
From: "Tom B" <kaladorn@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Nov 12, 2011 7:32 am
Subject: Blacker than Black
To: <gzg@firedrake.org>

Let me sum up the understanding people have tried to beat into my head
with the required Power Axe:

Black things will absorb the most incoming radiation: Good for stealth.
Black things will also readily radiate any heat they may themselves
generate: Bad for stealth.

Hmmm. I begin to understand further (already knew telescope arrays
could be good at differentiation from cosmic background) why stealth
is tough in space - the thing that makes active sensors less effective
against you (absorption) may well make you radiate heat like a
sonofagun.

I guess this explains to some extent why many stealth planes and ships
put a premium on surfaces angled to bounce incoming radar waves away
in some orthogonal direction rather than directly back at the emitter
(and thus presumably at the reciever).

It doesnt exactly tell me why the B2 and F-117 were black (if this is
crappy for thermal stealth), but perhaps the radar threat and visual
observation issues were more critical than thermal stealth in the
design process.

Tom

-- 
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