MIT News March 8, 2018
When a plane flies through an ambient electric field, its external electrical state shifts. As an external electric field polarizes the aircraft it can set off a highly conductive flow of plasma, called a positive leader — the preceding stage to a lightning strike. Researchers at MIT propose temporarily charging a plane to a negative level to dampen the more highly charged positive end, thus preventing that end from reaching a critical level and initiating a lightning strike. They envision outfitting a plane with an automated control system consisting of sensors and actuators fitted with small power supplies. When the sensors find signs of possible leader formation, the actuators would emit a current to charge the aircraft in the appropriate direction. Such charging would require power levels lower than that for a standard light bulb… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Lightning laboratory test on model aircraft. Credit: Joan Montanya /Â Polytechnic University of Catalonia