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Bomb-Proof Wallpaper Developed

MikeChino writes "Working in partnership with the US Army Corp of Engineers, Berry Plastics has rolled out a new breed of bomb-proof wallpaper. Dubbed the X-Flex Blast Protection System, the wallpaper is so effective that a single layer can keep a wrecking ball from smashing through a brick wall, and a double layer can stop blunt objects (i.e. a flying 2×4) from knocking down drywall. According to its designers, covering an entire room takes less than an hour."

20 of 388 comments (clear)

  1. That's cool! by TheWizardTim · · Score: 5, Funny

    But will it blend?

  2. Idle? by incognito84 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why is this considered idle? It seems like very promising and useful technology.

    1. Re:Idle? by Rick+the+Red · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seems like this would be a best seller in tornado alley.

      --
      If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
    2. Re:Idle? by MrMista_B · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because the editors are trying to scam you into thinking Idle isn't the craphole it really is.

    3. Re:Idle? by Garridan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Probably because it was a nearly content-free "article" that had a short video clip of some shit getting smashed. Not complaining. It's a huge improvement for "idle"... but there it is.

      However, I seriously doubt that this material would actually protect a house from much. The impact from the wrecking ball broke the brick, and the "paper" held it together. But what happens when you put a roof on, and you set up the bomb? First, your doors and windows are still just as fragile... and if the impact is as strong as the wrecking ball, the entire front of the house loses structural integrity, and caves in. Suddenly, the roof doesn't have enough support, so down it comes on your head.

  3. how flexible is it? by rich3rd · · Score: 4, Funny

    i think i need underpants made out of this stuff.

  4. Forget bombs, think hurricanes and tornados! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If this can stop projectiles from penetrating the wall, then think about the protection it could offer from tornados and hurricanes. Obviously not a direct hit, since there'd be far more structural damage, but how much of that damage caused by flying debris could be mitigated. At the very least, the protection it could offer for occupants.

    1. Re:Forget bombs, think hurricanes and tornados! by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The Mythbusters pretty much put that one to rest. Pressure differential (closed vs. open windows for example) makes almost no difference at all.

      What raises the roof is simply the shape of the roof. It causes lift that pulls it off the house. (Yes, that is a pressure differential, but not in the sense most people mean.) It is not interior pressure blowing the roof off, nor massive negative pressure outside "sucking" the roof off. It is simple aerodynamic lift.

    2. Re:Forget bombs, think hurricanes and tornados! by Quantumstate · · Score: 4, Informative

      This seems to be a common misconception, probably due to it being taught badly in schools. Taking an aeroplane as a specific example since this is the most common example of lift. You will find that the Bernoulli effect (the lift generated by a pressure difference above and below the wing) is not the main reason why planes fly (although the effect does exist, it is just not a large enough force to keep a plane up).

      What demonstrate this most clearly are symmetrical winged aeroplanes which are things like stunt planes which often fly upside down. It should be evident from the fact the wing is symmetrical that the common explanation of lower pressure above because air goes around a curve making it go faster has zero effect here.

      If you have paid attention carefully when flying you may have noticed that a plane does not fly completely flat most of the time. There is a small angle between the planes wings and the direction of travel. Because air tends to follow the surface of the wing (sometimes called the Coanda effect) this means that the air gets deflected downwards by the wing. If the air accelerates down then by Newton's laws there is an equal and opposite force upwards on the plane generating lift so it can then fly.

      I have not read anything about how houses are affected but I would imagine it would be a similar effect with the roof deflecting air causing a force.

  5. Wallpaper anchored in demo by Concerned+Onlooker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, it certainly looks interesting, but in the video the wallpaper was anchored very securely at the top and bottom of the test wall. I'd like to see how it does with only the sticky backing of the product itself keeping it on the wall.

    --
    http://www.rootstrikers.org/
    1. Re:Wallpaper anchored in demo by bistromath007 · · Score: 5, Informative

      It is meant to be installed with anchors. It would remain stuck to the wall and stop shrapnel fine without them, but when the wall bows, the tape would bow with it, causing a collapse. The anchors make the tape provide tension that keeps the wall up. Here's a video about the stuff that will clarify.

  6. New department for demolitions firms by The+Rizz · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just have to love any product that will require a whole new type of work for the demolitions industry - wallpaper remover! Would the job title be Interior Undecorator, or Interior Dedecorator?

  7. Discovery channel beat them to it. by WarJolt · · Score: 4, Informative
  8. Re:Kevlar by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Um, you might want to check your history again. The longbow was the weapon that made plate body armor obsolete.

    As for the other thing, that's the whole idea: better armor makes them develop bigger bombs. That is a back-and-forth that has been going on for centuries.

  9. Embed in concrete by handy_vandal · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How about embedding kevlar-web in concrete? As a building technique generally. Earthquake resistance?

    --
    -kgj
  10. Re:Idle? AYB. by Yoozer · · Score: 5, Funny

    But what happens when you put a roof on, and you set up the bomb?

    Well, that's obvious and it was explained all over the internet, several years ago.You have no chance to survive. Make your time.

  11. Re:Kevlar by rxmd · · Score: 4, Informative

    Um, you might want to check your history again. The longbow was the weapon that made plate body armor obsolete.

    Actually it wasn't. Plate armor was widely used in Europe after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415; arguably it gained in popularity.

    It was very difficult to pierce plate with a longbow. The English victory at Agincourt is more due to the terrain than anything else; arguably plalte became even more popular after Agincourt, precisely because it offered reasonable protection against arrows. (Protecting horses etc. was another matter.) The crossbow did a much better job against plate armor. It delivered more kinetic energy, and it took much less time to train a crossbowman than a longbowman. Firearms did the rest in the 15th and 16 century. The single most driving factor, however, was cost - plate armor was too expensive to make and maintain, and if you can hire a whole squad of Landsknechts (arquebusiers, what have you) for the same money it takes to have plate armor made for yourself, the arquebusiers win. At that point, however, longbows had already been obsolete for more than a century.

    --
    As a state gets corrupt, its laws multiply; the most corrupt states have the most numerous laws. (Tacitus, Annales 3:27)
  12. Re:Felt by TapeCutter · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yep, according to "Time team" their steel boots got stuck in the mud at Agincourt (like gum boots do), the English ranks were mostly wearing rags as shoes and could move more freely. Longbows were the WMD of the middle ages, especially when you had 10K archers all of whom could fire fast enought to keep 3 arrows in the air at once. Such a volley of arrows flying through the air is said to make a roar that could be heard for miles. As to wether they were effective against armour apparently that depended on what type of metal the amour and arrow heads were made of.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  13. Re:Go big or lose your wall by wish+bot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Come on guys - it's physics.

    This material is great in tension - that's it. If you 'bend' a material, the surface closest the the force goes into compression, and the surface away from the force goes into tension. How do you strengthen a wall? Increase the compressive strength of the surface closest outside, or increase the tensile strength of the surface on the inside. Put this stuff on the inside, smack the outside with a wreaking ball, and whatdoyouknow - the wall stands up.

    I'm not saying that this isn't cool, but it's not unique - thinking composite materials here. Laminated glass does this kind of thing easily for example, when using the right kinds of laminates.

    --
    lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
  14. Demonstration very misleading... by gooneybird · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That demonstration is very misleading.

    Observe that the material is not actually fastened to the wall, rather is is anchored to the top of the wall and the bottom of the wall (look at the piece of angle iron in the demo)

    This angle iron also distributes the force across the material, without it, it would just rip out where it was anchored, such as if just screws were used to attach it. I would bet that that piece of angle iron is pretty well tightened...

    If it were truly fastened as wallpaper, then it may prevent the wall from shattering, however the wall would still collapse where the material stopped unless anchored (as in the demo). Hence, instead of pieces of a wall falling on you, the entire wall would just fall on you, probably killing you...

    And yes, the rest of the structure would still collapse on you as well.

    This is probably an advance, however it probably would require new structural building techniques, as well as additional steel anchors/angle iron for it to be truly effective. Not something joe public could ever afford, but I am sure governments could "find" the money.....