Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe of Germany has come up with an alternative to
chemicals for protecting aircraft from icing up. The company’s idea is to use
microwaves instead.
The areas of the aircraft’s skin that are most at risk are scored with slits
and filled with a material that is transparent to microwaves. Wave guides carry
microwaves鈥攁t frequencies safely beyond those used in radio and navigation
equipment鈥攆rom a generator inside the aircraft to the slits (WO 99/25614).
The radiation passes through and melts any icy build-up.
