Most Shatterprufe (thats how they spell it on my car) windscreens have a laminated plastic section on the outside to stop it from shattering.
Firstly we need to make this plastic layer a bit thicker so that it can hold a static charge.
Along the bottom of the windscreen, we have a static electricity generator, a belt driven rubbing device. The static would repel the raindrops for just long enough so that they are blown over the roof.
"Hmm look at those dark clouds overhead - activate the shields, maximum settings!"-- Trodden, Feb 07 2003 Nice. I'd be interested to hear from some physics bods if this is feasible. Could double as a bug-zapper too.-- sild, Feb 07 2003 I like the idea of a Van Der Graff generator on the roof of my car powering this.-- pottedstu, Feb 07 2003 Wimshurst machines attached to all the wheels-- oneoffdave, Feb 07 2003 It depends if the raindrops have a positive or negative charge. Statistically, you'd probably end up attracting 50% of them. Besides, the fact that the vehicle will be damp, and operating in a humid environment, will make it extremely difficult to maitian any significant charge on the windscreen; it will just track and flash over almost continuously.-- 8th of 7, Feb 07 2003 Normally, your windscreen would be an unlikely target for lightning. However...-- lurch, Feb 07 2003 tada tada ta daaa, chaaarge it.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 07 2003 //windscreens have a laminated plastic section on the outside to stop it from shattering// Actually that's not how shatterproof windshields are made, at least here in the US. They are actually two layers of glass with a piece of plastic sandwiched in the middle to act as the bond when the glass cracks. So you'd need a new coating on the outside of the glass if this is to work.-- krelnik, Feb 07 2003 Shatterprufe ? Are you driving a Chevrolay?-- snarfyguy, Feb 07 2003 Don't your windscreen wipers work?-- uked, Feb 07 2003 ever hear of Rain-X?-- Freefall, Feb 07 2003 I'd sooner invest in fitting a car with an aerofoil which is ducted to the area in front of the windscreen, free of charge.-- X2Entendre, Feb 08 2003 Random Annotation-- DesertFox, May 07 2004 random, halfbakery