Zetix Blast-Proof Fabric Resists Multiple Car Bombs, Makes Our Heads Explode [Heir of Kevlar?]

Gizmodo ^ | 12/6/2007 | Jesus Diaz

[TChris]

Zetix is a fabric so strong it will resist multiple car bomb blasts without breaking. It absorbs and disperses the energy from explosions thanks to an inner structure so adamantiumtastic it can be used in body armor, window covering, military tents and hurricane defenses—it might even be able to fend off my ex-wife. When not shielding from explosions, it can be used as medical sutures that won't damage body tissue. All of this is thanks to a property that apparently defies the laws of physics:

Zetix is built around the principle of auxetics: objects that actually get fatter the more you stretch them. Though it hurts to think about, as you will discover, it actually makes sense.

[TChris]

I really hope this stuff is for real. It sounds pretty amazing.

[Reaganesque]

Cool! Amazing stuff is being invented every day. It's a cool time to be alive!

BTW, I wonder if they used it on this car: Click for video.

[goodnesswins]

"adamantiumtastic"

Now there's a word you don't hear every day!

[secretagent]

Hope dittos.

[Stonewall Jackson]

You got a problem with it, bub?

[steve86]

Now there's a word you don't hear every day!

Yeah, I thought the keyboard got possessed.

Looks like the strands of this fabric contort into a repeating S-Curve when stretched, with phenomenal strength. They weave in fibers of kevlar and conventional high-strength materials.

[ASOC]

Yes, a truly MARVELous word.

[Rudder]

...objects that actually get fatter the more you stretch them

Big deal. My ankle did the same thing just minutes after I broke it.

[Tunehead54]

Auxetix

Sigh. ;-)

---

Here's the company ... Auxetix, Ltd.

[dr_lew]

I was about to bloviate on Poisson's ratio, but Wikipedia has it covered in an entry for Auxetics. ( The articles are cross linked. )

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Interestingly, if you Google “adamantiumtastic,” all you find are various versions of this article. Think it’s a made-up word?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thixotropic materials are pretty amazing too. Try mixing corn starch with water, make a ball and squeeze it in your closed fist, then relax the compression.

[Defiant]

I would guess that the root of the word has to do with diamonds. Adamantium being diamonds, so the word would mean “like diamonds”, i.e., hard. But that is just a guess.

[CalvaryJohn]

I thought it meant like a punk rocker.

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

Bump for later! (Ultra cool)

[Does so]

I really hope this stuff is for real. It sounds pretty amazing.

I dunno if I'd want to wear it...

It's pink!

[Madame Dufarge]

A play on someone's name?

Adam Antium

[goodnesswins]

Actually, in my Websters...”adamant” means “inflexible” and the word “adamantine” means “Unyielding”....

[bert]

.....adamantiumtastic...

Anyone have a clue? Is the definition longer than the word?

[bert]

Mr to!!

My ankle doubled in size within about 3 or 4 minutes after it creeled into a hole.