Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-1-2012

Journal Title

Entropy

Volume Number

14

Issue Number

10

First Page

1915

Last Page

1938

DOI

10.3390/e14101915

Version

Publisher PDF: the final published version of the article, with professional formatting and typesetting

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Disciplines

Physics

Abstract

Infrared signature management (IRSM) has been a primary aeronautical concern for over 50 years. Most strategies and technologies are limited by the second law of thermodynamics. In this article, IRSM is considered in light of theoretical developments over the last 15 years that have put the absolute status of the second law into doubt and that might open the door to a new class of broadband IR stealth and cloaking techniques. Following a brief overview of IRSM and its current thermodynamic limitations, theoretical and experimental challenges to the second law are reviewed. One proposal is treated in detail: a high power density, solid-state power source to convert thermal energy into electrical or chemical energy. Next, second-law based infrared signature management (SL-IRSM) strategies are considered for two representative military scenarios: an underground installation and a SL-based jet engine. It is found that SL-IRSM could be technologically disruptive across the full spectrum of IRSM modalities, including camouflage, surveillance, night vision, target acquisition, tracking, and homing.

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