Stealth lightning

Covering stealth planes with a thin film of carbon nanotubes might protect
them from lightning strikes. A fine mesh of nanotubes held in a thin epoxy
matrix will make the surface of the radar-absorbing composite panels on stealth
planes highly conductive, says David Tomanek of Michigan State University. Then,
if lightning strikes, current will flow across the surface of the panels and
exit to the ground below the aircraft instead of causing disastrous
damage—like knocking a hole in a wing, or knocking out flight-critical
electronics. Boeing, maker of the B2 stealth bomber, told New Scientist
that it is testing…