Scientists Turn T-Shirts Into Body Armor

separsons writes "Scientists at the University of South Carolina recently transformed ordinary T-shirts into bulletproof armor. By splicing cotton with boron, the third hardest material on the planet, scientists created a shirt that was super elastic but also strong enough to deflect bullets. Xiaodong Li, lead researcher on the project, says the same tech may eventually be used to create lightweight, fuel-efficient cars and aircrafts."

Comments

Re:How elastic?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually the elasticity of these things change with the among of force applied. When you try to punch these things hard (just like a bullet does) they seem to rigid. But when you try to handle them with less force, like try to slowly pull or push them (just like when you try to wear them), they seem to be really elastic.

So your question should be rephrased as how elastic it is, when a bullet strikes it? Is is strong enough to distribute the force of the bullet through out your torso and not cause a serious dent?

Re:How elastic?

[XiaoMing]

I think "bulletproof t-shirts" is just a bit of verbal hyperbole from the reporter, albeit fitting in regards to the process that led to the creation of this material.

The main breakthrough of the process is that the third strongest material in the world, which was previously only accessible in a ceramic (read: brittle and crystalline) form can now be formed around templates of carbon fibers (the aforementioned, t-shirts baked to perfection).

In other articles, the main emphasis is definitely on this new stronger material being an improvement on current ballistic fibers such as Kevlar.

Popsci article:
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/armored-t-shirts-contain-boron-carbide-nanowires?cpage=1

Re:Don't Tase me bro...

[PhunkySchtuff]

If it stops a 9mm shell, it'll stop the little barbed prongs that a taser shoots. But they might catch in the clothing anyway, so you might still get shocked. Unless this stuff is conductive enough to short it out, or insulating enough to protect you.

No, it doesn't work that way. A "bulletproof" vest is relatively easy to get through with a sharp blade - most bullet resistant materials will use lots of strong fibres to tangle the bullet up in on it's way through, whereas a sharp knife (or a pointed barb that's not spinning) will penetrate relatively easily.