U.S. Army research lab using particles to stop bullets

The Daily Record (Baltimore) via SMALLTIMES ^ | July 20, 2006 | Joe Bacchus

[Sarajevo]

Ribcap incorporates revolutionary material d3o and provides you with a comfortable, shock absorbing hat that fits in your back pocket

The Ribcap was in development for 5 years, during which Jürg Ramseier (CEO) and his team were experimenting with other materials. When they found d3o there was a step change in the development - they had found something that really worked on impact.

The Ribcaps contain d3o in the form of moulded components or “ribs” as we call them. The Hendrix has different shaped components but they are moulded in the same way. For more info and stockists go to www.ribcap.com

The Spyder Giant Slalom race suit incorporates the sheet material in the contour texture as pictured below. The Race suits will be worn by Bode Miller and the rest of the US and Canadian Ski teams at this winter’s Olympics in Turin.

More good info here

[Hugin]

How long before someone posts a pic from Dune?

Personally I was thinking of Iron Man.

[diverteach]

The Discovery Channel's show "Future Weapons" showed prototypes of this. Very cool!!!

If you've never seen the show it's pretty good. Shows alotta stuff way way out on the cutting edge and not just US technology but from around the world.

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

The question is what will protect the head and the face.

[NicknamedBob]

Meteorites?

[NicknamedBob]

"The question is what will protect the head and the face. "

Aluminum Oxy-Nitride. -- AlON

[Hodar]

How long before someone posts a pic from Dune?

That is exactly what I was thinking as well. Great minds and all that.

[JohnBovenmyer]

The article linked at the bottom of #1 says

Liquid armor using shear thickening fluid (STF) is being developed at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The STF referred to in this article is made up of hard silica particles suspended in polyethylene glycol, a non-toxic fluid.

Polyethylene glycols of at least some types have been used as skin moisturizers and as bases for some prescription topical steroids. The skin tolerates them well. I presume their properties vary based on the lengths of the polymer chains used and I don't know how this STF PEG compares with the ointment PEGs with which this Dermatologist is familiar. I could conceive of an STF that would have the consistency of greasepaint and that could fairly safely be applied that way. The main concern would be it might worsen acne, which could become a significant problem granting that most soldiers are young men of acne prone ages. However I don't know how much protection it would give without the added Kevlar; it might be like a wall of mortar with no bricks. It's worth some R&D if there's a chance it could provide at least partial protection..

[Uriah_lost]

Think of "Silly Putty", moldable and flexible but rebounds under impact. We had braces when I played HS football that were made of a slightly more rigid form of the same material as "Silly Putty", it could be flexed and formed as long as you did it slowly but it would hold a wrist, for example, in place when I would punch the helmet of the guy opposite me. I was still able to grab his face mask and push him into the dirt, however. Twenty five odd years later I still miss being on the line.....
yeah, yeah, glory days and all that.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Want to try such a fluid yourself? Go get a box of regular cornstarch. Mix it up with cold water. Grab a handful and squeeze. Shear stress causes such thixotropic materials to harden under stress. Now relax your fist a bit and it turns right back to a fluid flowing through your fingers. Great fun!

[jiggyboy]

The DoD discovers ooblick!

[jiggyboy]

our enemies in the ME attribute virtually supernatural powers to US forces.

During WWII we put out the word that our black soldiers were at least naturally superior at night fighting compared to whites; I think we might have gone so far as to say that we had been breeding them specifically for the task. It's not outside the realm of possibility that the close Nazi-Islamist ties include passing tales of feared U.S. "powers".

[Northern Alliance]

Most armor has trouble stopping a knive or even flechett rounds (darts). Will this be able to stand up to slower, sharp, pointed weapons?

The article says it will. "While Kevlar can stop a bullet, it is still just a fiber, meaning thin points such as an ice pick or a hypodermic needle can push past the threads and do what a bullet cannot. Wetzel said Kevlar fiber treated with shear thickening fluid will lock into place and resist such tiny intrusions."

[xzins]

After reading this, liberals will scream:

"Our soldiers don't have body armor!"

Among other things, liberals are total idiots.

[Dallas59]

COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT!!!

Larry Nevin came up with the idea back in 1967!:

"Here's another description of how the impact suit works:

"When I realized I was falling, I pulled my hood up and curled into a ball. My impact suit saved me by holding my shape - much as water in a vase does not change shape when you set it down hard."

Here's another quote from Larry Niven's Ringworld Engineers:

...Louis ran along the fence toward the walkway. The soldiers were close... The roar was disconcerting, even terrifying. A slug slammmed into Louis's ankle; the suit went rigid, and he rolled like a tumbled statue, picked himself up, and ran again. As two soldiers threw themselves at him, he swung over the fence and dropped...

Louis landed flat on his face, in an impact suit gone rigid as steel. The form-fitting coffin supported him, but he was still stunned...

Although Gerrold and Niven share authorship of the book, the impact suit is Niven's idea; see Flexible Armor Suit from The Soft Weapon, a short story published in 1967.

Blog This | Join the discussion : ( 5 )

[Hexenhammer]

Oobleck armor. Astounding!

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

So when is the armor set to go into production?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Wasn't Batman an ordinary guy with a freaky outfit?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Oatmeal's Scottish? And haggis is disgusting.

[AntiGuv]

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