[MassHistPres] Trompe l'oeil question

[Cwkmail at aol.com]

I don't understand why the cell phone industry doesn't use so-called  
"microstrip antennas".  These are high-frequency antennas that are etched  into 
sheets of printed-circuit board.  They're only a fraction of an inch  thick.  (See, 
for example:  _http://www.physorg.com/news128257414.html_ 
(http://www.physorg.com/news128257414.html)    .)  They can be fitted onto flat or even curved 
surfaces. 
 
Even though missiles and commercial and military aircraft are equipped with  
radar and other radio communications, you never see any antennas jutting from  
the fuselages of these aircraft.  Why not?  Because microstrip  antennas are 
glued onto the exterior of these aircrafts' fuselages (although  they're 
hidden by paint).
 
This is not new technology.  It's been used for decades.  (My  brother worked 
at a company that makes these flat antennas for military  aircraft.)  These 
flat antennas are even inside some cell phones.
 
Why everyone tolerates those big, ugly cell phone towers with their  crowns 
of tangled metal, I do not understand.
 
Christoper Kirk
Shrewsbury Historical Commission
Shrewsbury, Mass.



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