New Face Paint Protects Soldiers Against Bomb Blasts

Zothecula writes "For millennia, face paint has helped soldiers avoid being seen by enemy forces. Recently, however, a team of scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi announced that a new type of face paint may soon also be able to protect against the heat of bomb blasts and other explosions. Additionally, a clear version of the paint could be used by civilian firefighters."

Comments

"I like turtles"

[Kenja]

I just have this bad mental image of our men & women in uniform with unicorns etc on their faces being told it will protect them against bombs... much like the magic amulet I have protects me against lion attacks (never been attacked by a lion since I bought it).

Re:"I like turtles"

[Shoten]

The only way they'd think they were told it would protect against bomb blasts is if they got their information from Slashdot without RTFA. The article clearly explains that it's not protection against bombs, just the flash of heat that accompanies them. This is a major problem for troops who are not directed to the direct trajectory of shrapnel but who still sustain nasty burns; just imagine a bit of facial scarring, and ask yourself if face paint that would have prevented it would be welcome?

Of course, these days Slashdot manages to post links to articles without actually reading the article themselves, somehow...

Re:"I like turtles"

[Aryden]

As long as there is war, there will be soldiers. Paint wont help that.

Re:"I like turtles"

[readin]

If you can persuade both sides to not show up, I applaud you. If you can only persuade the enlightened democratic countries to not show up, then soon we will all be ruled by the likes of Kim Jung Il, Stalin, and Mao. (What's it called when you mention someone worse than Hitler, an uber-Godwin?)

Re:"I like turtles"

[sadness203]

it's called lead paint.

Re:"I like turtles"

[Aryden]

War is the horror of humanity.

I think one of the (many) reasons the Vietnam war was so unpopular is because the public saw bodies every night on the evening news as they were being unload from the aircraft.

Though I can agree, the Vietnam war still lasted 10 years.

I think one of the worst things the USA government has done is to no longer allow the news media to film the bodies coming home.

As a soldier, I disagree. The news media only wants to use those images to press their biased opinions. When a soldier comes home for burial, it is a time of respect, honor, and mourning. Not a tool to be used by the propaganda machines. If the media could show it with dignity and without the bias, then certainly they should be able to.

Re:"I like turtles"

[Lotana]

Stranger things have happened in history.

Good example is the Huescar vs Denmark which was declared in 1809 as part of a larger conflict between France and Spain. Then this declaration was literally forgotten before re-discovery by a local historian in 1981!

In November of the same year the peace treaty was signed thus ending 172 year (!) conflict without a single shot or injury.

There is a whole list of conflicts like this on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_extended_by_diplomatic_irregularity

US Navy WW2?

[perpenso]

Didn't the US Navy use some sort of face paint during WW2 to protect gunners from the heat and flash?

Re:US Navy WW2?

[Nutria]

First thing I thought of, too. It was zinc oxide, the same as life guards put on their noses and grandparents smear on babies' bottoms.

Re:US Navy WW2?

[Aryden]

Only really protects from UV radiation. Doesn't help for heat flash.

Re:US Navy WW2?

[QuantumRiff]

if you were to go camping, would you want to keep your face covered in jello or vegemite or nutella the entire time?

Do I have to pick only one? :)

Re:For when "ducking" does not cut it??

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Helmets usually don't cover one's face, people generally have difficulties with trying to see through Kevlar.

Fine print

[jbeaupre]

* Not effective against effects of a bomb if you are the one wearing the bomb.

Re:For when "ducking" does not cut it??

[Forty Two Tenfold]

Helmets usually don't cover one's face

Hey, you just gave me a great idea for protecting the troops agains IEDs... This paint DOES come in brown, right?

How Not To Be Seen

[Ukab the Great]

"For millennia, face paint has helped soldiers avoid being seen"

"In this film we hope to show how not to be seen. This is Mr. Mohammed Quadrallah of 2345 Ibn Ali Avenue, Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, Afghanistan. He can not be seen. Now I am going to ask him to wipe off his face. Mr. Quadrallah, will you wipe off your face please."

(In the distance Mr Quadrallah wipes off his face with a handkerchief, which is followed by a drone strike followed by Wilhelm scream)

"This demonstrates the value of not being seen."

Re:Why would firefighters need clear?

[Sarten-X]

If I remember those county-fair firefighter demonstrations well enough, one of the major problems firefighters face is that they're already too scary.

In a house fire, children are startled awake by alarms, surrounded by disorienting smoke, and seeing flashing lights outside their window. Then suddenly a grotesque figure with a misshapen body and respirator mask comes bursting in to their room carrying a giant axe, with flames surrounding them. The children scream and run away, frantically hoping to escape their certain doom at the hands of the demon from the hallway. It's no use. Their shocked scream was heard, and the monster lumbers toward them, making unintelligible noises that sound almost like speech. Finally the great beast peels off his face to show a human underneath. "It's okay, I'm a fireman. I'll take you outside." Before the children can fully understand what's going on, they're being carried toward the door, and it's so hot they can't think straight. Maybe this is alright. At the door now, and there's people outside. Then there's mommy and everything's alright.

Keeping whatever remnants of human appearance a firefighter has is a good thing.

Bad news

[Vladius]

It probably causes cancer.

shielding

[CAIMLAS]

If this is, effectively, a heat shield, how will this impact soldiers in the field when they're not directly being blown up?

In war theatres where heat exhaustion is a significant concern, I don't see adding a protective layer to one of the few exposed parts of the body - a part where a great amount of heat is expelled due to its location - as being all that beneficial. I'm reminded of soldiers carrying their helmets in WWII and being penalized for not wearing them due to their weight and temperature discomfort - in relatively mild Europe.

Additionally, due to the absorbent nature of skin, your body's biggest organ, I have to wonder how this might impact long-term health. I imagine it's probably a flexible ceramic with some degree of volume/mass, possibly made with a non-Newtonian fluid. Assuming there's anything in it to be absorbed by the skin, that couldn't be good for you...

Re:shielding

[CAIMLAS]

I've used it. It always seems to make my sweat sting more when it gets in my eyes, to the point where I have to wash my face/eye area with soap/water to stop it from obscuring my vision.

awesome

[Quiet_Desperation]

When asked if the face paint was too thick, a soldier demonstrating the product said, "Mmmph mmmm mmmh mmmph mmm mmmmph."

Warner Brothers has been testing the paint

[Grayhand]

This is a shot of an early field test. http://mediaconnectiononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/wile_e_coyote_ACME.jpg

Re:Why would firefighters need clear?

[icebrain]

As a firefighter, I don't really see what benefit this stuff will really bring to us, given that we're already supposed to be covered completely by our turnout gear. We certainly don't have time to go applying it on the way to a call anyway.

Unless maybe it can be applied to the outside of the turnout gear and make it more heat-reflective?

Re:DEET encased in hydrogel?

[Sparticus789]

The Army requirement is for the paint to be 35% DEET. Nowhere does it say the DEET has to be effective.

Re:Why would firefighters need clear?

[icebrain]

As I understand the situation right now, a firefighter who can't approach a child has the option to remove their mask briefly to try to calm the child down.

I was never taught that, and none of us would ever consider doing that in a fire, because

the mask may not seal properly afterward, or even those few moments with the mask off could burn their face severely.

Not to mention possibly burning our lungs, inhaling smoke and toxic gases, dropping the helmet, etc.

We aren't going to remove helmet and facepiece; we're just going to grab the kid and get him out of there, and worry about calming him down outside, where it's cooler and has breathable air.

Re:Why would firefighters need clear?

[icebrain]

Lighter turnout gear is always a good thing, but given that the greater threat is heated gases (ambient temperature in a fire room can be a few hundred degrees, and you'll operate there for minutes at a time) and some physical protection against contact with hot and/or sharp objects, and seeing that some level of thickness and insulation will be necessary for that, I doubt this will make much of a difference.

Now, if you could somehow significantly increase the breathable air our packs contain, while making the pack itself lighter and less bulky (and yet easy to refill/swap bottles)... that is something we'd be all for.