Science: Death of the Contrail

The white trails left by high-flying airplanes may be a pretty sight in a blue sky, but bomber crews dislike them for good reason: an airplane may look from the ground like an almost invisible speck, but the condensation trail behind it is a gigantic chalk mark shouting "Here I am!'' to enemy attackers. Last week the Air Force announced that it has found a way to eliminate the familiar, death-bringing contrail.

When aircraft fuel burns, the hydrogen in it combines with oxygen to form more than the fuel's weight of water. If the air is cold enough, which it generally is...

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