Scientists Turn T-Shirts Into Body Armor 213
separsons writes "Scientists at the University of South Carolina recently transformed ordinary T-shirts into bulletproof armor. By splicing cotton with boron, the third hardest material on the planet, scientists created a shirt that was super elastic but also strong enough to deflect bullets. Xiaodong Li, lead researcher on the project, says the same tech may eventually be used to create lightweight, fuel-efficient cars and aircrafts."
Re:How elastic? (Score:5, Informative)
So your question should be rephrased as how elastic it is, when a bullet strikes it? Is is strong enough to distribute the force of the bullet through out your torso and not cause a serious dent?
Re:How elastic? (Score:5, Informative)
I think "bulletproof t-shirts" is just a bit of verbal hyperbole from the reporter, albeit fitting in regards to the process that led to the creation of this material.
The main breakthrough of the process is that the third strongest material in the world, which was previously only accessible in a ceramic (read: brittle and crystalline) form can now be formed around templates of carbon fibers (the aforementioned, t-shirts baked to perfection).
In other articles, the main emphasis is definitely on this new stronger material being an improvement on current ballistic fibers such as Kevlar.
Popsci article:
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/armored-t-shirts-contain-boron-carbide-nanowires?cpage=1 [popsci.com]
Not bulletproof. (Score:3, Informative)
Only that “We should be able to fabricate much tougher body armors using this new technique. It could even be used to produce lightweight, fuel-efficient cars and aircrafts.”
Re:Don't Tase me bro... (Score:5, Informative)
If it stops a 9mm shell, it'll stop the little barbed prongs that a taser shoots. But they might catch in the clothing anyway, so you might still get shocked. Unless this stuff is conductive enough to short it out, or insulating enough to protect you.
No, it doesn't work that way. A "bulletproof" vest is relatively easy to get through with a sharp blade - most bullet resistant materials will use lots of strong fibres to tangle the bullet up in on it's way through, whereas a sharp knife (or a pointed barb that's not spinning) will penetrate relatively easily.
Re:boron is toxic (Score:4, Informative)
No, it isn't [wikipedia.org]
Elemental boron and borates are non-toxic to humans and animals (approximately similar to table salt). The LD50 (dose at which there is 50% mortality) for animals is about 6 g per kg of body weight. Substances with LD50 above 2 g are considered non-toxic.
The plural of aircraft... (Score:2, Informative)
So you actually wished for a t-shirt? (Score:2, Informative)
Any nethack player knows how important a piece of armor the t-shirt is.
Blessed scrolls of enchant armor for the win.
Silk was used in a simlar way (Score:4, Informative)
Re:boron is toxic (Score:1, Informative)
Borons (Score:3, Informative)
Ugh the writers of the article (and, consequently, the slashdot user) wrote a badly worded description. I was surprised as I never heard of any particularly strong allotrope of boron. If you actually read the whole thing, it's boron nanowires that give the strength. Key word: nanowires. Researchers used boron, but there are plenty of different materials to make nanowires out of. And it is the particular properties resulting from reinforcing materials with nanowires that give the 'bulletproof' strength.
Re:How elastic? (Score:3, Informative)
Ye old flak vests had metal. However, in my experience, no modern vests have metal plates at all. If a vest has a metal component, it is usually kept in a pouch *on the front* of the vest, where a bullet simply passes through, to be absorbed by the kevlar/aramid/textile component--offering virtually no benefit against bullets or their blunt trauma.
What it does, however, is give protection against stabbing and puncture weapons, which traditional vests alone do not protect against. Even then, the metal insert stuff is two or three generations ago--haven't seen it in ages, really. I think most of the current anti-stab products incorporate layers of lexan/acrylic, possibly as well as additional bullet resistant material.
Anyway, getting back to the point: there are a number of blunt trauma pads/products generally meant to cover the sternum area, which go in behind the vest. Addressing one other post in this thread: there is at least one such product that incorporates non-Newtonian fluids. The steel layers went away because they were too inflexible, too ineffective, and they really made you sweat--even more so than a vest already does.
just my $0.02
Re:How elastic? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:+5 T-Shirt of Nerding (Score:3, Informative)
Brings my AC to 15!
Am I the only one to notice that AC 15 is just incredibly disastrous??
Certainly you mean AC -15.
Re:How elastic? (Score:4, Informative)
Its twice the weight as ceramic plates.
Not only that, but the ceramic is usually boron carbide.
Re:How elastic? (Score:2, Informative)
to nitpick: the gas wents and the semi/full -auto mechanism eat a nontrivial amount energy of the "equal but opposite reaction".
Re:How elastic? (Score:3, Informative)
You forget one thing, though. Shooters are generally standing in a very stable stance exactly for the reason not being knocked down. Try a less stable stance and the recoil might just knock you off your feet.
Re:How elastic? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:How elastic? (Score:5, Informative)
The dE/dT applies quite strongly here, the dE/dT is much lower for the shooter because the dT is longer as the projectile is accelerated through the barrel, at the other end the bullet either is stopped with a very short dT or it penetrates. The material in the article would be very useful in a layered approach; such as worn as a tee shirt with more conventional body armor providing the majority of protection.