Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site loral.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houxz!vax135!floyd!cmcl2!seismo!hao!hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!sdccsu3!loral!simard From: simard@loral.UUCP (Ray Simard) Newsgroups: net.auto Subject: Re: Radar Detectors and Legality Message-ID: <182@loral.UUCP> Date: Sun, 10-Jun-84 23:50:34 EDT Article-I.D.: loral.182 Posted: Sun Jun 10 23:50:34 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 13-Jun-84 02:29:37 EDT References: <596@cca.UUCP>, <1903@sdccsu3.UUCP> Organization: Loral Instrumentation, San Diego, CA Lines: 20 The idea of using steel wool or aluminum foil to fool radars has been around for a while, and it does not work. Why? When radar was first used for detection of enemy aircraft in combat, the incoming planes would drop bits of aluminum foil or other metal such as steel wool to form a cloud of false targets, obscuring the radar images of the actual attack aircraft. This was essentially an early form of radar jamming. Later, someone rather simplistically concluded from this that foil and steel wool somehow upset radar; hence the myth. In fact, steel wool behind hubcaps can't do anything since the metal exterior of the car (including the hubcap itself) serves as a microwave reflector, which is how radar speed dection works. -- Ray Simard Loral Instrumentation, San Diego {ucbvax, ittvax!dcdwest}!sdcsvax!sdccsu3!loral!simard