What method insures that aircraft are not affected by the Sun's harmful electro-magnetic rays?

There is no method that I know of. All forms of sunlight from x-rays and optical light, through infrared and radio waves, are forms of electromagnetic radiation. At some level, any of these can affect aircraft either by 1) illuminating the airframe or 2) by heating it via absorption. Low-altitude aircraft are not affected by solar radiation because any radiation shorter than ultraviolet is completely absorbed by the earth's atmosphere. Radiation longer than that at visible wavelengths ( infrared, microwave, radio ) is far too weak to do much more than heat the aircraft; and only the infrared component is very effective at doing that at all.

For human passengers, the ultraviolet light component is the only one to worry about at different flight altitudes, and much of this is blocked by the windows.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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