Shirts that stop bullets

ScienCentralNews ^ | 7/24/03 | Ann Marie Cunningham

[Squantos]

So this clothing will be indeed good for all involved......:o)

Stay Safe !

[Shooter 2.5]

The bullet would tighten the material as it passes into your body until it couldn't tighten anymore. In short, if the shirt is tight on your body to begin with, the bullet may only go in less than an inch. Chances are, a heart shot could still kill you. In fact, if the bullet was just deep enought to shatter your sternum, the broken bones could propel forward to act as a bullet doing the rest of the damage.

chaosagent is correct. Removing the bullet could be as easy as pulling on the fabric, but I don't know how much surgery would be required to heal the broken bones.

If this stuff is that tough, it might be layered on some sort of existing armor. As long as the armor couldn't shatter underneath the cloth, it would work.

[LibWhacker]

LOL

[absalom01]

This stuff is starting to read like a Sci-Fi novel.

[chaosagent]

Flattens against what?

The fabric is not rigid. It's soft and flexible.

The bullet has to hit something rigid to flatten.

Kevlar vests are mult-layered to provide the stiffness, but then they're not soft and flexible anymore.

I've seen pictures of a policeman's shoulder where he took a shot to a kevlar vest. His entire upper left torso was one big bruise and he had about a 3/4" depression in his skin where the bullet struck.

I still think a "soft and flexible" piece of bulletproof cloth is going to let the bullet penetrate the skin, dragging the cloth with it.

[Billthedrill]

Stephenson's most brilliant effort, IMHO. By far. BTT.

[Redcloak]

The only exception I can think of is if the fabric instantaneously stiffens when stress is applied, sort of like how your selt belt locks if you jerk forward quickly.

Wasn't MIT working on just such a fabric a few years ago? The idea was that sensors in the garment would detect a sudden shock and apply a voltage to align the fibers into a hardened matrix. The whole process would take place before the bullet has penetrated the fabric. As I recall, this was also a DARPA project.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I loved Cryptonomicon (especially it's history and present day tech interest), but was left cold by Snowcrash, which was rather silly. If I had read Snowcrash first, I (unfortunately) never would have bothered with Cryptonomicon.

Think I will like Diamond Age?

[bicycle thug]

"Lots of possibilities here, replacements for metal in highly stressed applications, much cheaper space flight, space tethers, beanstalks."

And lighter and stronger bicycles!

[Travis McGee]

"Head shots."

[Lazamataz]

Ski masks.

[Travis McGee]

Fine, if you're going to walk around in a ski mask all day long.

Of course, they would be handy for ATF raiding teams.

And I doubt they'll stop hardened steel flechettes. The battle of the sword and the shield is never going to be over.

[Poohbah]

Another issue: imagine a bullet smacking someone's face and getting stopped by a ski mask.

OUCH!

[sit-rep]

read elsewhere they plan to build a nanotube elevator to space... strong stuff!

[mhking]

Unstable molecules! Cool! Where's Reed Richards when you need him!?

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[sit-rep]

Yes... chastity has it's price!

[King Prout]

fullerene tubules, yes?
anyone know whether anyone has tried to make fullerene tubes out of Boron-Nitrogen instead of Carbon?

[King Prout]

"The battle of the sword and the shield is never going to be over."
and that's the absolute truth.

[Libertina]

Mithril!

[RadioAstronomer]

bump for later read :-)