h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Has anybody thought of selling radar-absorbent paint for cars? It'd be an excellent way of avoiding being caught by radar guns

Now there's a good idea!!

Good thinking Mr President!

shazz

*wonders where he can patent it*

I wonder if Lotus Esprites are suitable? They look a bit like stealth planes, all those flat surfaces. Oooh or that shiny metal car from Back to the Future, I saw one of those the other day... (in a museum - I suspect they rust rather quickly on the road!)

The paint alone wouldn't help much

You'd have to go to great lengths covering all splices around doors and compartments, the windows would need some transparent, yet radar shielding treatment, etc etc. You'd end up with lots more expense than a thousand tickets' worth.

Even if you spend that much, along comes a laser gun (or the old-fashioned light barrier) and that was it

Or, start a google search for 'radar jammer' and look at all the phantastic promises

The radar absorbent paint they use on the B2 bomber is infamous for:-

a) being hideously expensive
b) comes off in the rain

You could always stick to the speed limit

Does it really come off in the rain or is it just that a *wet* camouflaged bomber is a non-camouflaged bomber?

It was a bit of a scandal when it came out, but the stuff they coat the aircraft in reacts with water and loses its radar absorbent properties when it gets wet. So every time it the aircraft get wet it has to have the old coating scraped off, and a new layer re-applied.

The potential for humerous remarks is unlimited.

As it turns out, the Chevrolet Corvette, with its fiberglass construction gives a lower radar return than other cars, since the fiberglass doesnt return as strong a signal. Also, the radiator is located at the front of the engine compartment perpendicular to the engine, so the its face faces straight ahead. With a little tinkering, you can angle this assembly back so that the majority of the electromagnetic waves beamed at the car from the front are deflected up and away from the reciever in the officer's hands. Now just do something with the windows (tinting them i think helps) and now you have a car that will be more difficult to pick up on radar than the others. (mind you this still means that he can find out how fast you're going, you'll just be closer to him when he finds out than with other cars, so I wouldnt try blazing past him at 110mph thinking you can get away with it! Also, this is just for the front of the car, not the sides of the rear, still thinking of what you could do with those sides.)
Cheers,
Marty

oh btw the silver car from back to the future is a DeLorean and they don't rust very easily as they were famously made from stainless steel.