[bnelson44]

So if I understand this correctly, the bullet would push the fabric into the body causing all kinds of damage, but the fabric won't break?

What am I getting wrong here?

[LibWhacker]

Could be wrong, but I'm assuming the nanotubes spread out the energy of the impact over the whole shirt.

[NearlyNormal]

My guess is that a really bad bruise is usually going to be better than a perforation and a large exit wound.

[BluH2o]

So if I understand this correctly, the bullet would push the fabric into the body causing all kinds of damage, but the fabric won't break?

Precisely ... the fabric may not allow the projectile to penetrate ... but the material is so thin it will allow the projectile to push the fabric well into the body tissue.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Forgive the source, I had to get this from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk

Mongols used silk as part of the under-armor garments. Silk is so tough that it was actually used as very light armor, although its special use (the big secret) was to stop arrow penetration into the body. The silk would stop an arrow from penetrating far enough into the body to be lethal; and the arrow could then be pulled out of the wound by tugging on the unbroken silk. The added advantage to this is that there would be no contact between the arrowhead and the interior of the body; thus it reduces the incidence of infected wounds.

There would be perforation with this nanotube armor, but a great deal less trauma than a through and through wound channel.

[skinkinthegrass]

the bullet would push the fabric into the body causing all kinds of damage, but the fabric won't break?

hmmm..Seems so, Massive internal injuries (broken bones/ruptured organs....dead person)
...bright side..no holes / tears in the Tee-shirt.

[Rockingham]

Other materials such as fluids with extremely high shear forces would probably be added so that the result would be like wearing a thin, flexible suit of armor that would harden in an instant and dissipate the mechanical force of impact into chemical and thermal energy. The concept is contrary to common sense and it took me several readings and some thought before I understood it.