TravisRogers wrote:
Hi All,

The density of air changes notably with changes in temperature which
results in differences in lift to an airfoil. After putting on my mad
scientist cap, I got to wondering -- are there any other methods of
altering the density of air? Perhaps using radiation of a particular
wavelength (from radio to gamma) or other perhaps other methods?

In particular, I'm wondering if it is possible to change the density of a
specific predetermined volume of the atmosphere. The idea is to create an
area of the atmosphere that is far too thin or far too thick to be
compatible with an airfoil, thus denying the area to (terrorist) aircraft.

This whole thing sounds pretty far out there but it's amusing to think
about. Any thoughts?


You could do something like release an enormous volume of hydrogen, but
it would be difficult to contain in a specific area.

To increase the density, you can use water vapor. Or pollen. Because
lift is proportional to mass flow, you will be helping the enemy.
However, you might want to assist a plane which is running low on fuel
by making its wings more effective for a short time.

I cut back to one newsgroup for this post. There's no reason to
broadcast this nonsense.