"On Airplanes, Fiber Optics Poised To Reach New Heights"

In an effort to provide safer and more reliable components for aircraft, researchers have invented an optical on-off switch that can replace electrical wiring on airplanes with fiber optics for controlling elevators, rudders, and other flight-critical elements

Full story here

My question is : would this make planes impervious to EMP?

AlBeMeT

Originally posted by AlBeMet
My question is : would this make planes impervious to EMP?

There is no 'one' answer to that which you ask other than somewhat.
Nothing is entirely impervious, indestructable, etc.
The hope is that this will add more resistance to being affected by an EMP pulse.

Originally posted by AlBeMet

My question is : would this make planes impervious to EMP?

AlBeMeT

Fiber optics alone would not make an aircraft immune to the effects of EMP. You still have the microelectronics that need to be hardened, the fiber optics only send data that the electronics process.
Kirkland AFB in New Mexico has a nice EMP test facility for USAF aircraft.

Wasn't this new technology called "Fly-by-light"?

Yes but If it did affect it I think it would only be very brief being that fiber optics use light rather than electric to conduct there signals granted the connections them self would not be directly affected but the electronics (Circuit boards etc.) they run to would. Unless they come up with a fiber optic circuit board which is long off.


AlBeMeT

Just so I understand this right, its an optical "switch", but in the on-off switch on your wall sense rather than the transistor sense?


At the end of the day, all computers see are 1s and 0s... on and off. If this is a micro-optical switch in the transistor sense, it could replace conventional semiconductors, and would be impervious to EMP... wouldn't it?

Yes you would think being its light instead of electric impulses that would be generating the on / off effect but electricity would be needed in generating the ''light pulses" needed for fiber optics. So I guess it would still be affected in some ways by EMP.

After research and intelgurl's post I have come to the conclusion that to make something impervious to EMP you need to remove electric completely from the equation or find a way to ''Shield" it from EMP or run the fiber optics off a wax candle and hope it doesn’t blow out in flight


AlBeMet

Originally posted by AlBeMet
After research and intelgurl's post I have come to the conclusion that to make something impervious to EMP you need to remove electric completely from the equation or find a way to ''Shield" it from EMP or run the fiber optics off a wax candle and hope it doesn’t blow out in flight

AlBeMet

As far as I was aware, its transistors and static sensitive chips that are susceptible to EMP, for instance, the old valves that used to be used in early aircraft electric systems are resistant to EMP produced by any current nuclear weapons.


Either way, a realistic EMP will not affect a general copper wire - it doesn't contain anything that will overload. So using fibre optics will not make the aircraft any more or any less resistant.