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Building Better Body Armor With Nanofoams

Zothecula writes "Given that scientists are already looking to sea sponges as an inspiration for body armor, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that foam is also being considered ... not just any foam, though. Unlike regular foam, specially-designed nanofoams could someday not only be used in body armor, but also to protect buildings from explosions."

17 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Wow by telchine · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nanotechnology... the next big thing.

    I'll get my coat

    1. Re:Wow by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nanotechnology... the next big thing.

      I'll get my coat

      It sure does make for annoying headlines; but 'nanotechnology' is sort of a concept that is doomed by nature to be spread vacuously thin across all sorts of things, both incremental advances and more remarkable stuff.

      There probably a material in existence whose bulk properties don't derive from its structure at a fine scale, so the entire history of fields like metallurgy is 'nanotechnology' in a weak sense. On the other hand, though, most of that history, even to the present for economically viable bulk production, is largely messing around with heating and cooling parameters, and throwing various trace impurities into the mix, and then hoping really hard that the right nanoscale structures self-assemble.

      The real problem is deciding where to draw the line between 'yeah, it's "nanotech" in the vacuous sense that all materials engineering is' and 'actually "nanotech" in some sense that makes it worthy of the title'...

  2. Troy Hurtubise by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 3, Informative

    Didn't he come up with something like this? Or am I misremembering one of his inventions? I recall someone putting a mound of shaving cream-looking stuff on a bomb and it went phut instead of boom. Then I remember Hurtubise demonstrating armor by being shot at.

    --
    Mostly random stuff.
    1. Re:Troy Hurtubise by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 2

      Troy's had several inventions regarding armours and protection. His 1313 laminated plating resisted consecutive sniper rifle rounds to the same location (not possible with current armours), though I don't know of any public demonstration footage of this, as well as explosive charges larger than typical RPGs. His Firepaste, though, has protected his own face from a torch supposedly hotter than re-entry temperatures, footage of which is on YouTube.

      He also constructed a supposedly 97% coverage body armour ("Trojan") with lots of little gizmos included, and allowed almost totally unrestricted movement. No idea if it actually worked or was demonstrated.

      Just search Google for his name; The articles are numerous.

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
  3. Buildings smuildings by shione · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can see a lot better use for this than putting it on buildings. How often do buildings in the first world get bombed anyway and what affect will it have on demolishing them when needed? Put them in carparks, as crash barriers and traffic devices, even fencing walls, anything to hold cars back so they cannot cause greater damage to others.

    1. Re:Buildings smuildings by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      I can see a lot better use for this than putting it on buildings. How often do buildings in the first world get bombed anyway and what affect will it have on demolishing them when needed?

      Are you seriously suggesting we stop panicking about unlikely things now? Because Western governments have spent the last decade fostering the panic, and I can't see them stopping any time soon. It's how they get away with everything these days, by invoking terrorism, child porn, or copyright infringement.

      How often has the TSA found someone trying to blow up a plane?

      There's simply too much money at stake to start winding down panic over activities which are low probability.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  4. No real details about these... by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I would LOVE for them to figure out a better foam for armor for us motorcyclists. Right now we have standard polymer foams in our armor, but I would love some effective stuff that is thinner fill in the non impact points for extra protection. Right now I have thick CE rated foam armor in impact locations that also has kevlar on the outside, but I would love to have a reactive foam for a backboard that is flexible normally but solidifies into a backboard when the texting bimbo in the minivan runs me off the road and I come off the bike.

    Current motorcycle armor is effective, but it could be better.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:No real details about these... by 1369IC · · Score: 3, Interesting

      These things tend to make their way into industry, but it'll take a while. ARO funding university work is usually a first step in the process, but at the end, if it works out, it gets transitioned to industry in one form or fashion. For example, flexible display research started out with Army funding and there was a consortium with universities and industry. Here's a story. You can see they started working on it in '04, the article is from '08 and they're not at Best Buy just yet. Full disclosure: The Army Research Office is part of the Army Research Lab, which is part of the command I work in, the Research, Development and Engineering Command. We taxpayers fund a lot of research.

  5. Re:How many licks does it take to get to the cente by lxs · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think you'd first have to invent a compressible liquid. Most liquids are characterized by being barely compressible. even in high pressure hydraulics the liquid is only compressed by one or two percent.

  6. Re:Overpressure or impact by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

    Given that TFA specifically name-checked 'Traumatic brain injury', it would appear that both "body armor" and "better packing material" are valid interpretations. They aren't looking to defeat penetrators(at least not notably better than existing systems); but are aiming to do something about the fact that dangerously powerful shockwaves propagate just fine through armor designed against fragments and less-zealous bullets.

  7. Re:How many licks does it take to get to the cente by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wouldn't this foam work better if the empty spaces were filled with a compressible liquid?

    How about gas?

    What do you think the "empty" space in a foam is filled with?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  8. Re:buildings... from explosions. ???? by Hal_Porter · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm not American so far be it for me to tell you how to be American.

    However there was a T shirt post 9/11 that said "I hope Allah has kevlar" that I feel summed up the sort of can do, batshit insane attitude we expect from Americans and from America.

    You guys needs to be be Batman not Commissioner Gordon. We have loads of Commissioner Gordons that work within the rules with all the compromises that implies. Some problems need a rich psycho with an inflexible sense of morality and a load of gadgets.

    And in any case the Jokers of this world are going to be blowing up shit no matter what America does. Look at the time line of AlQaeda attacks on the US.

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  9. Re:buildings... from explosions. ???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wrong superhero.

    That's the sort of ``anything goes'' attitude which results in the C.I.A. kidnapping people for ``enhanced interrogation''.

    We need Captain America (or Superman if one wishes to stick w/ DC Comics). America needs to unambiguously be seen as the good guys, w/ no uncertainty as to our moral compass. If a thing isn't something one would want one's grandparents reading about in the newspapers, then it ought not be done. The first thing which needs to happen on that front is the C.I.A. needs to go back to the old guidelines on professions which they are _barred_ from using as fronts / cover:

      - aid workers
      - religious
      - medical personnel

    One of the most reprehensible things which the C.I.A. ever did was use the sham of vaccinations which were used to gather DNA so as to locate people related to Osama Bin Laden.

    Fighting Polio is a lot more important than fighting terrorism. Spreading justice and democracy and self-representation and self-sufficiency is the key to winning the war on terror.

  10. Re:How many licks does it take to get to the cente by al.caughey · · Score: 5, Funny

    What do you think the "empty" space in a foam is filled with?

    My socks that go missing from the laundry?

  11. Re:buildings... from explosions. ???? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 2

    American superheros are out of style, and will soon be history. The emasculated administration of our schools are trying to have kids arrested for even thinking about anything heroic.

    http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/03/04/indoctrination-kid-suspended-for-making-a-gun-out-of-a-pastry/

    http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/20970646/ten-year-old-boy-arrested-after-toy-gun-found-in-his-backpack

    Sorry, those are not my main, or favorite sources for news - but the liberal media doesn't seem to like those kind of stories.

    I don't know where tomorrow's heroes will come from, but I'm afraid they won't be coming from the United States. Maybe Canada will step up to the plate. I can't imagine the UK taking our place, they already live in Orwelle's 1984. The British guy I work with says he tried to enlist. They hammered him with a psyche test, and one of the questions was, "Why do you want to be a soldier?" His honest answer, "I want to have a gun!" disqualified him. Not only did it disqualify him for military service, but apparently, the shrink came unglued on him.

    Sad days ahead, I think, for the US and UK.

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  12. Re:buildings... from explosions. ???? by TheCarp · · Score: 2

    Spot the fuck on.

    I was agast when Secretarty of state Clinton said that doctor should be freed. What that man did would have been highly illegal here in the US, where we have specific patient medical records laws that specifically defend our right to privacy. It is disgusting that she would encourage and defend the violation of that right anywhere, for any reason. If anything, she should commend pakistan for punishing grievous violations of patient medical privacy rights.

    Its sad when people in developing countries look at aid workers with a jaundiced eye and spread rumors about sham vaccination programs. Its an absolute travesty when their fears are justified.

    --
    "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
  13. Re:What is truly nanotech? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

    "buckminsterfullerenes filled with a bonus atom" be able to count as truly designed and engineered nanotechnology?
    They do. Just count the existing companies into nanotech. Most of them simply create nano particles, mainly for surface treatment of tools or windows and siilar things.

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.