The military would like to use blimps as eyes — and cell towers — in the sky. But, for the plan to really work, the antennas attached to those airships have to be light, flexible, and fit perfectly on the blimp’s hull. And so far, building those antennas has been hard to do.
A crew of Air Force-funded companies has a new approach: paint-on antennas that can be slopped right on the side of an airship. The goop is “a combination of polymer-based dielectrics and highly conductive paint,” Aviation Week says. And during a recent flight test, a spherical blimp with “paint-on electromagnetic antennas communicated voice and data to an Iridium Global satellite.“
The key, apparently, is a product called Unishield, a coating which “creates an electrical field that can be specifically tuned to absorb or reflect radar frequencies.” Which means that the stuff can not only be used to make paint-on antennas — but can create magnetic fields to make planes more stealthy, too.
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This is going back aways but I think Echo, the first communications SAT, was nothing more than a mylar balloon.
Interesting
Some thoughts about a radioactive coating making the things hard to see http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002801.html as well:)
I’m confused — does this wonderpaint really produce an electric field of its own? If so, where is it getting the power? Or is it just a static field?
The Unitech website just describes it as an “extremely conductive” paint that’ll stick to all sorts of ornery surfaces — basically, Farraday-cage-in-a-can, from the sound of it. A bit of a jump from that to creating customized magnetic fields — unless you’re planning on doing that by embedding lots of little magnetized iron filings in pretty patterns.
Things that make you go Hmmmm?
This reminds me of a Discovery channel show that used to (forget name) start out with a revolutionary invention and then go backwards from thier all the way back to a series of mundane, not at time thought of as related, useless minor by themselves inventions that some future geneous put together and whamo stupid geneous.
I’ve been watching this airship design for about 20 years now, first incarnated in Canada as a “magnus effect” airship. A novel approach, but still limited, especially in ground handling. Reference has been made to difficulties encountered because of helium expansion as well.
The “paint on” antenna are being developed for so called “high altitude airships”; which still have enormous hurdles in power supply, propulsion, and envelope integrity. For these reasons, it is unlikely that all the tech will come together very soon.
But, why bother? Surely, using already proven, do-able technologies to create LARGE NUMBERS OF AIRSHIPS that can: transport cargoes, carry passengers, and serve as mobile electronic relay platforms, all at the same time would be more immediate and more cost effective.
(picture up to, say, 30 airships, flying in regular intervals across a vast ground area at 6,000′.….delivering military cargos up to 20 tons, while ferrying troops, acting as medical facilities.….all the while their hulls are acting similar to extremely high radio towers as well.….all linked so that when one is landed, another is taking its’ place in the electronic network)
Do-able, with precedent in early Distant Early Warning blimps of the 60’s.…..and far more readily available than “high altitude” airships.
Haninah:
I think it’s just a really good conductive paint that stays flexible when exposed to the elements. Usually if it’s durable and flexible it sucks as a conductor.
Most conductive coatings good enough to act as an efficient antenna are brittle (e.g. Cobaloy).