Hitler (and)'s status on Saturday, 03-Dec-11 20:13:23 UTC
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@ceruleanspark an aircraft like that employs a design element know as a Faraday cage to protect it. What that means is if it gets struck by lightning because the exterior metal surface is one continuous skin and is separated from the interior by a non-conductive layer, the charge from the lightning strike is dispered over the entire surface of the aircraft and since there is no conductive joint between the skin and the interior components it doesn't effect anything on the inside. The avionics (flight computers) are also protected in this manner. That is why airliners can fly through thunderstorms.
