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Article

Title: Lasers Listen to Vortices from Airplane Wing Tips

Author: Hogan, Hank Article Type: Product Analysis
Source: Photonics Spectra, v40 n1 p40(2) Publication Date: Jan 2006
  ISSN: 0731-1230
  Illustrations: Photographs
URL of Publication: http://www.photonics.com

Flight Safety Technologies' senior VP for technology Neal Fine is using a laser-based system called Socrates to listen for the sound of a vortex generated by wing tips as airplanes land and take off. Identification of vortices would permit planes to take off safely and to land closer together, thus easing airport congestion as well. Socrates, which is not an active turbulence sensor, instead detects sound on the ground that is generated remotely from where the plane passes over. The method has benefits beyond lidar-based approaches that require sufficient particles be present for tracking and also that no fog, rain, haze, or other beam-dimming atmospheric conditions be present. Socrates ground-based lasers catch broadband sound produced through turbulence. The beams phase changes as it traverses the air in response to shifts in the air's index of refraction. When the beam has returned to the system, it has recorded a snapshot of the sound along the optical path. The integration rejects sound coming from a direction along the optical path and allows better performance than is possible with an array of standard microscopes. The patented system is being built by Lockheed Martin and uses a 1319-nm Nd:YAG laser from Lightwave Electronics and a receiver from Optiphase.

Special Features: Photographs

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Nd:YAG Lasers

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