Conch Shells Inspire Next Generation Helmets, Body Armor (rdmag.com) 44
New submitter omaha393 writes: Researchers at MIT used a 3D printing approach to develop a biomimetic composite capable of withstanding 70-85% more resistance than typical helmet designs. The material was manufactured using a composite of hard and soft printable polymers called VeroMagenta and TangoBlackPlus. The polymers were printed to overlay in a specific pattern that mimics conch shell molecular hierarchy, thus preventing cracks from spreading and offering a substantially more crack-resistant material. The researchers propose the material can be custom tailored and readily printed for future helmets and body armor manufacturing. The study has been published in Advanced Materials.
Minbari From Babylon 5 ? (Score:1)
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Fibonacci FTW (Score:2)
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I'm going to need a bigger shell [satedepicure.com]
Soon there will be 3 seashells in the bathroom (Score:4, Funny)
instead of toilet paper.
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Well at least it means we'll soon be able to make our own clothes instead of buying them.
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I hope not.. because I don't even know how those damn things work!
Withstand the Resistance (Score:5, Funny)
Researchers at MIT used a 3D printing approach to develop a biomimetic composite capable of withstanding 70-85% more resistance than typical helmet designs.
"AGGGHHH TOO MANY OHMS!! LITERALLY 1 MILLION OHMS! I'M NOT... going.. to... hey, wow this is a nice helmet! I really couldn't have withstood that resistance for much longer. Thanks ConchHat, you saved me!"
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But will it also be useful against Borg assimilation?
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But will it also be useful against Borg assimilation?
On the contrary, the better the helmet withstands, the more resistance is futile.
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Yes, well, it worked for the Kazon! http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/... [wikia.com]
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I was going to point this out, but you saved me the trouble and the negative karma of being a language nazi. One wonders what exactly they meant. Withstanding blows 70-85% harder without cracking? Offering 70-85% more resistance to certain kinds of stress (and yes, there are multiple kinds of stress -- compressive, extensive, shear)? Or, as you say, too many ohms...?
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I was going to point this out, but you saved me the trouble and the negative karma of being a language nazi.
Oh hell, you should try it! Being an absurdist, Funny-mod-seeking, borderline OT, typo nitpicker has been uniformly great for my karma. In fact, I only ever catch any real karmic flak around here for actual opinions—and really just politics modwars at that.
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I was talking about spiritual karma from putting negative energy into the Universe. Not that I believe in spirituality in any non-metaphorical sense or that ethical action has any energy at all in any non-metaphorical sense, but metaphorically all of that stuff. Not so much /. karma, which AFAICT just adds up to "is not generally a total butt in online discourse".
Of course, being a language nazi could have the positive effect of embarrassing the writer into not writing nonsense, at least as often. It cou
NFL (Score:2, Interesting)
I wonder if this would help football players. Something to keep concussions from happening with such frequency.
Re:NFL (Score:4, Informative)
I wonder if this would help football players. Something to keep concussions from happening with such frequency.
This specific development? Probably not. It sounds as though this material is about as hard as current football helmets, and perhaps harder. Impact causes concussions because sudden acceleration or deceleration of the head causes the brain to hit the inside of the skull. But perhaps the knowledge and techniques gained here might allow them create padding for football helmets that absorbs impacts better than the current materials.
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No, that can be fixed by putting leather helmets back in the game. Bet those defensive players won't be putting their heads down then!
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No, that can be fixed by putting leather helmets back in the game. Bet those defensive players won't be putting their heads down then!
Or no helmets or pads. Does anyone know the relative concussion rate for rugby?
And now we discuss a summary of a summary? (Score:3, Insightful)
A scientific paper was published but you need to pay to read it. Some guy reads it or maybe skims it and to meet a quota, he writes a quick summary of the paper but doesn't include any illustrations of a conch shell. Omaha393 sees this summary and submits a quick summary of that summary to Slashdot where BeauHD writes a quick introduction and posts it on the main page of Slashdot. Nobody will read that summary of a summary yet they will discuss and debate the pros and cons of a broad generalization of the topic and some may even post racial slurs because they thinks it's clever. Penis.
Not For Civilian Use (Score:1)
Too bad that by law, this can't legally protect a civilian life from a gunshot. Body armor is illegal for non-LEO/military personnel, and exceptions made of course for high-value VIPs, both government and business/corporate/financial.
Some animals are more equal than others.
Strat
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Bullshit. Go do some simple fact checking. It's illegal for felons, as are guns, but I can buy and wear body armor if I so desire.
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Bullshit. Go do some simple fact checking. It's illegal for felons, as are guns, but I can buy and wear body armor if I so desire.
My information was dated, you are correct. So many things to keep track of over the course of 6 decades, heh! Great news, IMHO! Hopefully many lives will be saved as a result. There were decisions on relevant court cases and precedents set so that there is no restrictions on civilian body armor (except in a crime, sane as a hammer, really). I will note however that many US suppliers/distributors/sellers will still refuse to sell without LEO-LEA/Gov credentials, despite it not being illegal to sell to the ge
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Too bad that by law, this can't legally protect a civilian life from a gunshot.
Whose law . . . ? In which country . . . ? Do you, by any chance, live in a fascist dictatorship . . . ? Or a police/surveillance-state . . . ?
Around my parts, wearing body armor in public spaces is required by law for safety reasons. Kinda sorta like wearing seat belts is required in some places.
Body armor is illegal for non-LEO/military personnel . . .
. . . which is not a problem for us, as we are all LEO/military personnel. Folks in other parts get baptized at birth; we get deputized at birth. Firearm ownership is mandatory for home protection. Each ho
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In the US you can purchase body armor that will protect from handgun and shotgun rounds (as well as stabbing, slashing, and electrocution):
https://safelifedefense.com/pr... [safelifedefense.com]
That's a civilian sellable version.
The plate armor worn by the military is more restricted, but that doesn't really make sense for an ordinary person to wear (it is obvious you are wearing and rifle attacks are very rare).
So now it's a good thing... (Score:3)
...to get a conch on the head?
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Fine, I'll say it (Score:2)
storm trouper armor (Score:1)