A valuable, simple, novel idea ...
It's one of aviation's most dastardly problems: in a perfectly clear sky, an aircraft suddenly hits severe turbulence that gives it a terrifying shaking, or which makes the plane plummet as aerodynamic lift is lost in a low pressure air pocket.
Boeing suggests a startlingly simple answer: train a regular digital camera equipped with a telephoto lens on the horizon and make it snap pictures continually. Then an image processing computer compares image after image to see if air density and temperature changes due to clear air turbulence are causing telltale refraction of the horizon line.
For more, see Boeing Invention Lets Planes Spot Dangerous Turbulence by , January 21, 2011 at NewScientist.
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