Posted on 02/20/2019 7:06:15 PM PST by BenLurkin
MIT researchers say that lobsters could offer a solution to the problem plaguing most modern body armors: the more mobility an armor offers, the less it protects the wearer’s body.
Guo told MIT News that the idea for developing body armor inspired by lobsters arrived while he was eating one and noticed that the transparent membrane on the animal’s belly was difficult to chew. Unlike the crustacean’s bone-like outer shell, the animal’s softer tissues remained a mystery, he said.
Once researchers began to dissect those tissues, they made a surprising discovery. Making significant cuts into the membrane didn’t affect the material’s elasticity. Researchers determined that the elasticity and strength is due to the membrane’s unique structure, which includes tens of thousands of layers that they compare to plywood. The fibers within those layers help the material dissipate energy when it’s under stress, making it “damage tolerant,” researchers wrote.
“The knowledge learned from the soft membrane of natural lobsters sheds light on designing synthetic soft, yet strong and tough materials for reliable usage under extreme mechanical conditions, including a flexible armor that can provide full-body protection without sacrificing limb mobility,” the study added.
Guo told MIT News that material designed to replicate the strength and flexibility of lobster membranes could also be used in soft robotics and tissue engineering.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Lots of good engineering ideas from nature.
But you have to carry a large container of melted butter....
“But you have to carry a large container of melted butter.”
hahahahaha
lol...
Molotov butter could be the bane of such armored police
N-acetyl glucosamine, chitin, same thing found in fungi.
Beware the enemy coming at you with really, really tiny forks......
I’m immediately applying for a grant to study fried clams.
[Lots of good engineering ideas from nature.]
Agreed. Almost like there is a God in Heaven Who knows what He is doing.....sorry, that’s just my wacky religious talk.
:)
(not saying you disagree - just an observation)
[fried clams]
Yes, I love ‘em at Long John Silvers. With tartar sauce.
Yeah I like cheap food, LOL.
Something like the Trump Warhammer?
$24.95 for my favorite fried clams from Kelly’s on Revere beach just outside Boston.
I really do need a government grant for them.
fwiw, I got a good laugh out of the post about the tiny forks.
;)
They stole my recipe ha ha
ROTFL! 
Actually for lobster one uses a "lobster pick" instead of a "fork".
Just FYI
Now that is funny
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