Originally published in June 1994
“One of the most persistent enemies of safe flying—formation of ice on propellers of planes in flight—is now being overcome by a new electrically heated propeller ‘skin’ that enables the propeller surface to warm up like a sick-bed heating pad. The skin is made by two kinds of synthetic rubber, the outer surface being a thin coating that is tailormade to conduct electricity instead of blocking its flow.”
—Scientific American, June 1994
More gems from Scientific American’s first 175 years can be found on our anniversary archive page.
