Slashdot Mirror
Blast-Proof Fabric Resists Multiple Explosions
An anonymous reader tips a Gizmodo story on a fabric whose properties are counterintuitive, to say the least of it. "Zetix is a fabric so strong it will resist multiple car bomb blasts without breaking. It absorbs and disperses the energy from explosions... it can be used in body armor, window covering, military tents, and hurricane defenses... [and] 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: helical-auxetics, objects that actually get fatter the more you stretch them. The concept makes my head want to explode, but when you see it in action it actually makes sense."
Sutures necessary from the failure of the cloth?
Read the label "Resists, not Proof!"
The concept makes my head want to explode, but when you see it in action it actually makes sense."D'oh!"
"At least we can use the remainder of your suit to stitch you up!"
You should wear a hat made of this material, if not for you, than for those around you.
"I wear fashions from Yves St. Rongbad, in case anything around me asplode!"
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
We should look at it for what it is. For one thing, this won't do anything for bullets (or swords). Another defensive tool, which is a great thing. Offense has been winning out way too much in the race.
According the material on the companies web site (auxetix) one of the applications is for a fabric that changes colour as it's stretched (specifically for cargo webbing). But one application which would be much cooler (and useful for a fair portion of the slashdot crowd) is pants made out of this stuff - They'd change colour to tell you when you've eaten too many pies.
Windows in 6 Bytes (IA-32) : 90 90 90 90 CD 19
So how is the energy dissipated? Since energy is force times distance, how much force needs to be applied, or how much displacement of the fabric is needed to dissipate this energy?
Just as a physicist, this idea doesn't pass the smell test. Never mind a ballistics expert or materials scientist...
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
Is this a new measuring unit, a la Libraries of Congress? Or are we to assume all car bomb blasts are equal?
The fabric sounds great, but there's not much in those citations other than the basic mechanics of the material.
What is the SI-unit for car bomb explosion?
Zetix is a fabric so strong it will resist multiple car bomb blasts without bricking.
'iddqd' was unpronounceable and make it less marketable except to some Eastern Bloc countries
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
The best thing to do with it would be to make bags that you can use to contain an explosive device rather than try to protect people with it.
Afterthought: if it's so tough, how do you machine it?
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Bomb Proof, Bullet Proof, Nuke proof, alien proof, hatred proof, etc etc.
Why don't these companies try and make something that just injects intilligence into the idiots creating these situations where it's required.
So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
be the first to be called hot pants for wearing this stuff?
You've clearly never read Dave Barry and his reference to armor-piercing stealth mosquitoes.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
...that now we have a material to help reduce casualties from explosive force, bullets and shrapnel, how long will it be 'til our own agencies devise means to negate its defensive potential in order to increase the potential damage inflicted on the opposing force.
You were made by man....there u also phail.
And if u phail ur statement phails...and if it phails then all man creations dont phail... then u dont....oh shit...
If we leave people alone, we don't have to worry about bomb proof vests.
I see tremendous opportunity in a peaceful market for this product: paintball vests, snowboarding and motorcycling clothing, maybe even using it in some kind of car bumper to reduce damage or absorb impact, especially if it could expand sideways during a collision.
I'd also like a blanket so when my cat goes psycho and jumps on the bed, she's repelled with great force.
when stretched. At least now I am assured of a proper prothesis should it become damaged.
This is hardly new. I've had a something that gets fatter the more you stretch it for as long as I can remember.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
"All of this is thanks to a property that apparently defies the laws of physics"
These kind of statements are so frustrating to me...
Just something we're kicking around at the office. It has a nice "ring" to it, don't you think?
I would never leave home without it.
Insert funny smart-ass comment here.
The sheets in my bed are pretty strong too. Withstands countless dutch-ovens despite the protests of my wife.
Fabric can resist damage - but the concussion waves (especially lethal in water explosions) will still cause damage.
As an example, there are current studies on the link between multiple concussive explosion attacks on soldiers - a higher proportion of US soldiers in Iraq may in fact develop Parkinsonian diseases as a result of multiple exposures to blasts from car bombs and other similar attacks.
So, this will help with shrapnel and some damage, but will not solve the total risk factor.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Finally, I can have an outfit that is safe from Dell laptops and LG Cell Phones!
Explosion proof underwear with the Taco Bell dog on the back? Or is that just me thinking odd?
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Nice video showing and explaining the phenomenon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdkYuLsT7Sc
I tend to forget that the "Known Universe" is a subset of the Universe & it's "laws." This materials work, and things like electron tunneling, hypersonic fluid dynamics, etc., serve as an effective reminder.
Just letting my mind wander - were a Chinese Finger Trap made from this material, would it let go of your fingers as you applied tension?
Prove it.
i.e. wears out, breaks. that would include man'kind'. not necessarily as a race ('made' by the creators), although we seem determined to cause that too.
I'd be thrilled to have a motorcycle jacket and armour made better by this stuff.
(big suprise!) because they are talking about using it on windows (window breaks, or you have 1/2 inch of padding and this thing, which isn't "this thing" as they imply.
If you've got 10m of air between you and a frag grenade, a good duffle coat will protect you. We don't call it "grnade resistant duffle coat". This is just a puncture proof (to some level) material you can use to retain the physical integrity of whatever buffer you are using between you and the shrapnel.
And that's a whole different idea.
Likelihood of survival, given only one choice? Gun versus vest. One guy with a bat--probably the gun. Lots of guys with guns--the vest.
I really hate that saying. It makes it sound like physics is a religion, where scientists have decided "that's how things work, and that's that" - which is ridiculous. If something "defies" physics, then the laws of physics change to accommodate reality. That's how science works - it comes about based on observation.
Nothing can defy the laws of physics - because physics describes how things work.
Moo.
This does not defy the laws of physics. Poisson's ratio varys between .5 and -1. Outside of those bounds and you violate conservation of energy.
http://silver.neep.wisc.edu/~lakes/PoissonIntro.html
If they made underwear out of this, I wonder how many Courics it could hold.
a few things your intellect hasn't realized yet:
1. menace comes from smart and ill-intentioned people as well as just dumb people
2. that tools of war are used by men engaging the defense from those with bad intentions just as much as it is used by those with bad intentions
thought experiment for you: a lunatic comes into town with a samurai sword and starts slashing people. reference recent news from omaha nnebraska if you think this scenario is not a constant danger throughout human existence
1. in society #1, the people calmly stand there, explaining to him, much in your line of thought, of the stupidity of what he is doing. shortly before their jugulars are slashed. the whole town is wiped out. also wiped out with them, is the philosophy of nonviolence
2. in society #2, as soon as the guy raises his sword, a common townsfolk raises his sword, and the only blood spilled is that of the lunatic. the philosophy of prudent use of arms survives
interestingly enough, the philosophy of nonviolence results in more bloodletting and death (scenario #1). paradoxical, but true
darwinistically speaking, nonviolence is a path to extinction. it sounds really nice, but in the reality of human nature and how human nature plays out, you must, UNFORTUNATELY (see, no warmongering here) have constant use of arms close by, to guard from those with bad intent. you will never stop the creation of people with bad intent in this world. if you respect free will, you respect that every once in awhile, someone somewhere will make a horrible choice, and you must guard against that. i suppose you could disallow free will. that's a certain path to nonviolence: a superfascist state. is that superior in your mind than a free but armed society?
peace in this world is not maintained by an absence of armament, peace in this world is maintained by a balance of armament, a constant tension, a potential that is released to restore the balance of peace when an imbalance in fair action occurs by bad intentioned individuals in public settings
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
..getting all gross from masturbating with it?
Should this be used as safety-wear, like in a full-body suit, then what about the need to *cut-in* to treat an injury or to remove someone from a wreckage (à la jaws-of-life)?
their Magic Mormon Underwear out of it thus giving them even higher levels of protection against that which is unholy!
cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
I wonder whether if could be used to make a lighter bear proof suit... http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1637-bearproof-suit-to-be-put-to-the-test.html
I can just see it now. Tanks with turbans. Tent bunkers. The list is endless.
"Giving money and power to governments is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." - P.J. O'Rourke
For one thing, this won't do anything for bullets (or ninjas).
Why just go halfway?
Quack, quack.
I think you mean this video.
Quack, quack.
the shrapnel isn't photonic.
If your motorcycles explode on a regular basis, you may want to reconsider servicing them yourself......
Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
It's clear that some of you never do your own laundry:
From About:
Definition: Sizing is used to make ironing garments [easier]. Sizing is also designed to create shape and dirt resistance. Sizing and Fabric Finishes come in a spray form.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
Will this prevent STD's?
hmm, yes we see that you got blown up, but we still can't replace your flak vest. You'll just have to hope you don't get blown up twice!
This is dangerous. It's like playing russian roulette with someone's life.
Great that it withstands multiple explosions, but people don't. How many explosions are you expecting to be in?
Isn't withstanding one explosion good enough? After the first one, should you really be in a position to get blown up again?
They're using their grammar skills there.
If it is, I take it they won't be patenting their results, yes?
If not, then all we're doing is deciding not to waste time and energy on a "cure" that is too expensive for us to buy.
Does it resist tasers? That's something we need these days.
What?
Please don't use "umm" or "err" or "erm".
this supposedly novel property , which can be obtained with the right sort of weaving
.. moral is, I bet lots of weavers have known about this for a long time,
reminds me of a story about a famous mathemetician, who after watching his wife knit, goes and thinks for a while, and comes back and says to her, I have mathematically deduced anothe way of knitting....it's called perling dear
"Zetix is a fabric so strong it will resist multiple car bomb blasts without breaking."
Unfortunately the hydraulic shock from the blast, entering primarily through places that can't be covered so you can breathe, will make the wearer into a "hairy bag of strawberry ice cream" (Catch 22). But at least the armor will be intact for the next poor sod to pick it up and put it on.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
If you look closely at the pictures associated with the story (and rtfa), and provided on the company website you see something interesting. The fibers don't actually get wider, as they claim, they stay the same size when stretched (measure from top to bottom of the pieces of fabric in the pictures). However, due to the nature of the co-wound materials, pores open up within the fabric, which they claim allows the air associated with blasts to pass through, while preventing shrapnel/debris from passing. They talk about seat-belts etc getting wider, but they show no examples of this behavior.
Swords will fucking cut your hands off
You want air to circulate through the net. Shoot at something that open and the results are awful. The bullet shreds as it passes through the screen openings and acts like a shotgun load, or at least .22 cal. snake shot.
------ The only greater hazard to your liberty than n politicians is n+1 politicians.
To remove momentum. No deformartion and the whole has to move. Distortion of the material will be passed on to the next layer.
You.
Unless you have more armour underneath, which is missed by the PR blurb and makes this
a. less of a miracle
b. thicker
Drapes up, captain?
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
If this is the same principle used by inertial dampeners on Federation starships.
"No, uh, I just spilled paint on my lap. Although yes, I *am* quite happy to see you, Ms. Kidman."
-Styopa
especially gods and assorted other boogeymen of the night.
Society #3 has done a good job locking up the lunatics as well as policing the borders to make sure "insane" societies don't attack. Because weapons of mass destruction are difficult to get, the few insane individuals who aren't treated or locked up can do little damage. Rates of death from violent means far below that of natural causes, such as cancer, accidents, and heart disease. This allows the society to out compete the neighboring violet countries, due to extended lifespans, greater time for education, and the rule of law allowing for peaceful dispute mediation.
Looking around, it seems that more and more countries are moving in this direction. I haven't known anyone who died from violent assault, but I've known lots of people who have died of cancer. I know no one who regularly carries a weapon around. The unfortunate part is that this type of society seems to go a bit counter to human nature. Fortunately people are pretty flexible and continue to evolve at a surprisingly fast rate.
Dunno. Imagine you get bounced from your ride and somewhat turned around. You're sliding backwards on your ass, with your legs dragging behind you. The resulting tension causes the pants to expand, sliding off you hips, leaving you to ride the asphalt on your own never before exposed to the sun ass skin. Erroding it right down to the bone.
Fortunately, you won't have to suffer the embarrassment of ass pimples, cellulitis and the like.
So the chemical bonds are like a shoelace that gets wider as it gets more worn?
IF the fabric absorbs the energy, it has to get rid of it in some way. Assuming a person is wearing a suit made of this fabric, the energy of the explosion will be passed on to the wearer in which case, the guy/gal will explode inside or melt inside while wearing the damn suit. If not, it will have to be radiated as heat in which case also, the wearer will suffer massive burns.
I don't know how this material is going to dissipate the engery, but a negative Poisson's ratio (and thus the reason for something getter fatter the more you strech it) is allowed in certain cases (example: isotropic material - the allowed Poisson's ratio goes from -1 to +0.5; materials with a Poisson's ratio > 0 are common, but materials with a Poisson's ratio 0 are well known e.g. certain foams) and this is not news.
Use cork! People are stopping using corks in bottles, and so the Portugese are grubbing up gork groves thousands of years old, and getting EEC grants to plant yuckky stuff like oilseed rape instead. If you can find a neat use for the stuff, you would be saving a bit of history too.
-------
... be deployed in containment systems, military tents, ballistic mosquito nets and body armor, a $2 billionpret-a-porter market.
It is based on the amount of reward you are promised in the afterlife for using the car bomb. A "standard" car blast has a strength of 7 dekavirgins.
-----
More revisionist metric nonsense.
The "standard" car blast is called the akar. One akar is equal to six fekar, and one fekar is equal to twelve virgins. These are long standing traditional measures which are much more natural when planning real attacks, by the way... some of us actually do stuff instead of just talking about it. By all rights, even when using your annoying metric system, a "standard" car blast would be 7.2 of your dekavirgins. However the Car Bomb Unit Naming Institute is overrun by weak-willed idiots who have never blown themselves up to smite their enemy in their lives, and have chosen to spit on the face of this holy tradition by rounding the number to a more "convenient" value. As if any of these guys has ever worn an explosive belt or carried a dead-man's switch. It makes me sick, I tell you.
-----
Zetix is a fabric so strong it will resist multiple car bomb blasts without bricking.
-----
From TFA:
The fabrics can
What?
----------
Great, first my boss catches me viewing a page with explosions and armed penguins on it, and now I'm going to piss myself in my seat, which I'm rolling around in, and it's past the "I'm just reading the news in the morning" grace hour, plus I've recently been held up in my work by delayed software releases and people using a lifetime's worth of vacation days at once. You guys are so gonna get me fired.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
thank god for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxetics/cow teats
My Sig Sucks
Big deal those terrorist occupiers still need to absorb over 10 kilowatts of heat and pressure. Penetration or no penetration raw power will do the job.