This is a topic that seems to have heated up in recent years on the internet. I feel qualified to discuss it since I spent 18 years as an aeronautical engineer with the RCAF specializing in gas turbine engine technology and flight testing.
The argument in its simplest form centers around the composition of aircraft gas turbine engine exhaust. The chemtrail theorists would have us believe that something poisonous (e.g. aluminum in some form) has been added to the exhaust either external or internal to the engine. It has not. Here is why.
Engine manufacturers are constantly designing and testing improved combustion processes within the engine in order to decrease the byproducts of combustion such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, and particulate matter (i.e., soot). All of these can have deleterious effects on the earth's atmosphere, especially ozone and carbon dioxide levels. In fact, standards are now beginning to come into effect that regulate such emissions, especially particulate matter. It is in the best interest of manufacturers to make the combustion process as efficient as possible, if for no other reason than future profitability. For commercial and military aviation, there is no manufacturer in their right mind that would add chemicals to the process (internal), or even after the process (external), and thereby potentially jeopardize their reputation and their profits, not to mention the integrity of the engine.
To add any chemicals or solid products to an engine would require extensive–and expensive–testing for safety (of people and the planet) and to ensure the process does not compromise engine efficiency. This eats into profits as well. Not only that, but adding product of some kind would require a container placed either externally or internally to the engine. If it were external, it would be seen immediately by observers. Indeed, I find it interesting that chemtrail proponents have not yet made any mention of external containers either on or near the engines, or on the body of the aircraft itself. Again, any external container would require extensive and costly flight testing, because "things" attached to any part of an aircraft's body typically add to drag, and can potentially cause control problems. The probability that airlines would agree to such fitments is highly unlikely because it would have the potential to increase drag and thus range, which can be very costly in terms of both passenger satisfaction and fuel. But the question must be asked, "For what purpose?" Why would they jeopardize their entire company's success to carry out questionable experiments? This would have to be a project on such a massive scale that it would not take long to be discovered.
A great example of externally-fitted tanks are the two aerodynamically shaped canisters that are mounted on the bottom of the fuselage of the Tutor aircraft in the Canadian Snowbird aerobatic demonstration team. They contain diesel fuel that is piped to the engine exhaust stream to create white smoke. See photo below.
The trails left by aircraft that are easily seen by everyone–and let's make no mistake, these are almost always commercial airliners and not military aircraft–are "condensation" trails, or contrails. Hot water vapor is one of the many byproducts of combustion and when it exits the engine and hits the extremely cold atmosphere at cruising altitude (between about 32,000 and 42,000 feet), it condenses and turns into a visible cloud trail. However, the temperature and humidity at that altitude must be just right for condensation to occur–the air must be cold with some humidity. Contrails do not occur on every flight of every aircraft. Sometimes they dissipate quickly, and sometimes they grow into larger clouds. It's all a function of ambient conditions.
I have no doubt that experimental flights have been conducted over the years to test the effects of various chemicals on the weather (note that I say weather and not climate). After all, we humans have always been dependent on the weather for our well-being - and not just in the present day. However, if chemtrail proponents are going to continue their crusade, they had better come up with hard evidence other than unscientific observations and guesses.
References:
Keith, D. (Date U/K). Chemtrails Conspiracy Theory. Harvard University - David Keith's Reseaarch Group. Retrieved October 10, 2024, from https://keith.seas.harvard.edu/chemtrails-conspiracy-theory.
Lee, B.H., Wood, E.C., Miake-Lye, R.C., Herndon, S.C., Munger, J.W., and Wofsy, S.C. (2011). Reactive Chemistry in Aircraft Exhaust: Implications for Air Quality. Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2206, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., pp. 19–23. DOI: 10.3141/2206-03.
Lingen, R. (2023). What in the World Are They Spraying?? rumble.com. Retrieved October 10, 2024, from https://rumble.com/v3xmktd-what-in-the-world-are-they-spraying.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawFybtpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHdBilKdkdwyTGnJW4P0GX-ftHy5gm8kgQrEoT7dp5ok6eDOfWCasEQ1mxw_aem_7lF5AIjWzoMcQoDvFpRbZA.
Rindlisbacher, T. and Jacob, S.D. (Date U/K). New Particulate Matter Standard for Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines. ICAO Environmental Report. Retrieved October 10, 2024, from https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Documents/EnvironmentalReports/2016/ENVReport2016_pg85-88.pdf
Smith, L.D., Allan, J., Coe, H., Reyes-Villegas, E., Johnson, M.P., Crayford, A., Durand, E., and Williams, P.I. (2022, January). Examining chemical composition of gas turbine-emitted organic aerosol using positive matrix factorisation (PMF). Journal of Aerosol Science, Volume 159. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021850221005991.
Starik, A.M. (2007, March). Gaseous and Particulate Emissions with Jet Engine Exhaust and Atmospheric Pollution. RTO-EN-AVT-150 - Advances on Propulsion Technology for High-Speed Aircraft. 15: 1-22.
Waldek, S. (2023, August 27). Contrails: What are they and how do they form? Space.com. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://www.space.com/what-are-contrails.
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