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Conch Shells Inspire Next Generation Helmets, Body Armor (rdmag.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the next-gen dept.

New submitter omaha393 writes: Researchers at MIT used a 3D printing approach to develop a biomimetic composite capable of withstanding 70-85% more resistance than typical helmet designs. The material was manufactured using a composite of hard and soft printable polymers called VeroMagenta and TangoBlackPlus. The polymers were printed to overlay in a specific pattern that mimics conch shell molecular hierarchy, thus preventing cracks from spreading and offering a substantially more crack-resistant material. The researchers propose the material can be custom tailored and readily printed for future helmets and body armor manufacturing. The study has been published in Advanced Materials.

44 comments

  1. Minbari From Babylon 5 ? by tmjva · · Score: 1

    And will Billy Mumy model them?

    --
    Tracy Johnson
    Old fashioned text games hosted below:
    http://empire.openmpe.com/
    BT
    1. Re:Minbari From Babylon 5 ? by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

      You have the conch

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  2. Fibonacci FTW by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    show your spirals

  3. Beware people of Midkemia! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Tsurani return! And this time they rise from the sea!

  4. my conch is big by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And hard!!!

    1. Re:my conch is big by PPH · · Score: 1

      I'm going to need a bigger shell

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  5. Soon there will be 3 seashells in the bathroom by SensitiveMale · · Score: 3, Funny

    instead of toilet paper.

    1. Re:Soon there will be 3 seashells in the bathroom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Looks like I will have to keep violating the verbal morality statute ...

    2. Re:Soon there will be 3 seashells in the bathroom by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Well at least it means we'll soon be able to make our own clothes instead of buying them.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    3. Re:Soon there will be 3 seashells in the bathroom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      for those wondering about the reference:
      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106697/

    4. Re:Soon there will be 3 seashells in the bathroom by modi123 · · Score: 1

      I hope not.. because I don't even know how those damn things work!

  6. Withstand the Resistance by flopsquad · · Score: 4, Funny

    Researchers at MIT used a 3D printing approach to develop a biomimetic composite capable of withstanding 70-85% more resistance than typical helmet designs.

    "AGGGHHH TOO MANY OHMS!! LITERALLY 1 MILLION OHMS! I'M NOT... going.. to... hey, wow this is a nice helmet! I really couldn't have withstood that resistance for much longer. Thanks ConchHat, you saved me!"

    --
    Nothing posted to /. has ever been legal advice, including this.
    1. Re:Withstand the Resistance by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      But will it also be useful against Borg assimilation?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:Withstand the Resistance by flopsquad · · Score: 1

      But will it also be useful against Borg assimilation?

      On the contrary, the better the helmet withstands, the more resistance is futile.

      --
      Nothing posted to /. has ever been legal advice, including this.
    3. Re: Withstand the Resistance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. You'll look so dumb the borg will skip past.

    4. Re:Withstand the Resistance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see the resistance but what about alternating impacts? Will it *impede* anything then?

    5. Re:Withstand the Resistance by rgbatduke · · Score: 1

      I was going to point this out, but you saved me the trouble and the negative karma of being a language nazi. One wonders what exactly they meant. Withstanding blows 70-85% harder without cracking? Offering 70-85% more resistance to certain kinds of stress (and yes, there are multiple kinds of stress -- compressive, extensive, shear)? Or, as you say, too many ohms...?

      --
      Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
    6. Re:Withstand the Resistance by flopsquad · · Score: 1

      I was going to point this out, but you saved me the trouble and the negative karma of being a language nazi.

      Oh hell, you should try it! Being an absurdist, Funny-mod-seeking, borderline OT, typo nitpicker has been uniformly great for my karma. In fact, I only ever catch any real karmic flak around here for actual opinions—and really just politics modwars at that.

      --
      Nothing posted to /. has ever been legal advice, including this.
    7. Re:Withstand the Resistance by rgbatduke · · Score: 1

      I was talking about spiritual karma from putting negative energy into the Universe. Not that I believe in spirituality in any non-metaphorical sense or that ethical action has any energy at all in any non-metaphorical sense, but metaphorically all of that stuff. Not so much /. karma, which AFAICT just adds up to "is not generally a total butt in online discourse".

      Of course, being a language nazi could have the positive effect of embarrassing the writer into not writing nonsense, at least as often. It could create an actual behavioral gradient towards self-improvement. It could make the world a better place, and help widows, orphans, and kittens.

      Naaaaaa.... probably not.

      --
      Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
    8. Re: Withstand the Resistance by WallyL · · Score: 1

      Yes, well, it worked for the Kazon! http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/...

  7. NFL by amiga3D · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I wonder if this would help football players. Something to keep concussions from happening with such frequency.

    1. Re:NFL by jenningsthecat · · Score: 3, Informative

      I wonder if this would help football players. Something to keep concussions from happening with such frequency.

      This specific development? Probably not. It sounds as though this material is about as hard as current football helmets, and perhaps harder. Impact causes concussions because sudden acceleration or deceleration of the head causes the brain to hit the inside of the skull. But perhaps the knowledge and techniques gained here might allow them create padding for football helmets that absorbs impacts better than the current materials.

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    2. Re:NFL by Chewbacon · · Score: 2

      No, that can be fixed by putting leather helmets back in the game. Bet those defensive players won't be putting their heads down then!

      --
      Chewbacon
      The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
    3. Re:NFL by judoguy · · Score: 1

      No, that can be fixed by putting leather helmets back in the game. Bet those defensive players won't be putting their heads down then!

      Or no helmets or pads. Does anyone know the relative concussion rate for rugby?

      --
      Peace is easy to achieve, just surrender. Liberty is much harder get/keep.
    4. Re:NFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is the frequency of injuries measured in Hurts?

  8. And now we discuss a summary of a summary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A scientific paper was published but you need to pay to read it. Some guy reads it or maybe skims it and to meet a quota, he writes a quick summary of the paper but doesn't include any illustrations of a conch shell. Omaha393 sees this summary and submits a quick summary of that summary to Slashdot where BeauHD writes a quick introduction and posts it on the main page of Slashdot. Nobody will read that summary of a summary yet they will discuss and debate the pros and cons of a broad generalization of the topic and some may even post racial slurs because they thinks it's clever. Penis.

    1. Re:And now we discuss a summary of a summary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can read the paper for free. The reason there is no illustrations of a conch shell is because it follows the fine structure of the layer of the shell, not the macro structure. Here's an article from 2000 which talks about the type of structure being imitated.

  9. Not For Civilian Use by BlueStrat · · Score: 0

    Too bad that by law, this can't legally protect a civilian life from a gunshot. Body armor is illegal for non-LEO/military personnel, and exceptions made of course for high-value VIPs, both government and business/corporate/financial.

    Some animals are more equal than others.

    Strat

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    1. Re:Not For Civilian Use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Bullshit. Go do some simple fact checking. It's illegal for felons, as are guns, but I can buy and wear body armor if I so desire.

    2. Re:Not For Civilian Use by BlueStrat · · Score: 2

      Bullshit. Go do some simple fact checking. It's illegal for felons, as are guns, but I can buy and wear body armor if I so desire.

      My information was dated, you are correct. So many things to keep track of over the course of 6 decades, heh! Great news, IMHO! Hopefully many lives will be saved as a result. There were decisions on relevant court cases and precedents set so that there is no restrictions on civilian body armor (except in a crime, sane as a hammer, really). I will note however that many US suppliers/distributors/sellers will still refuse to sell without LEO-LEA/Gov credentials, despite it not being illegal to sell to the general law-abiding public. Curiously, some places which refuse non-credentialed in-person sales will sell online without any credentials required. Israel has a strong export market to the US for top quality BA as a result.

      With all the terrible decisions coming out of the courts over the last few decades, seemingly on 'turbo' the last couple decades, it's a pleasant surprise when they actually get it right!

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    3. Re:Not For Civilian Use by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 2

      Too bad that by law, this can't legally protect a civilian life from a gunshot.

      Whose law . . . ? In which country . . . ? Do you, by any chance, live in a fascist dictatorship . . . ? Or a police/surveillance-state . . . ?

      Around my parts, wearing body armor in public spaces is required by law for safety reasons. Kinda sorta like wearing seat belts is required in some places.

      Body armor is illegal for non-LEO/military personnel . . .

      . . . which is not a problem for us, as we are all LEO/military personnel. Folks in other parts get baptized at birth; we get deputized at birth. Firearm ownership is mandatory for home protection. Each household needs at least a PDW, like a Tavor, an H&K MP7A1 or a Beretta Mx4 and additionally a sawed-off tactical shotgun with phosphorous Dragon's Breath loads: "Feel THAT burn, Senator Sanders!"

      Some animals are more equal than others.

      That is a corollary to Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, but his biographers have no definitive information on what firearms he carried. Phone calls to the Institute for Advanced Studies near Princeton University inquiring about the body armor worn by faculty members were answered with:

      "Eh?"

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    4. Re:Not For Civilian Use by turp182 · · Score: 1

      In the US you can purchase body armor that will protect from handgun and shotgun rounds (as well as stabbing, slashing, and electrocution):

      https://safelifedefense.com/pr...

      That's a civilian sellable version.

      The plate armor worn by the military is more restricted, but that doesn't really make sense for an ordinary person to wear (it is obvious you are wearing and rifle attacks are very rare).

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
  10. So now it's a good thing... by hyades1 · · Score: 2

    ...to get a conch on the head?

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  11. 787 Dreamliner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The carbon fiber material that makes it possible to build structure that isn't brittle is made up of layers of carbon/epoxy separated by thin layers of more flexible material. This is called "toughened" composite.

  12. Picture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesus, is it too much to ask for a picture in the article of what they made, or is this the 1980s when most people didn't have access to a digital camera.

  13. Slashdot story is nothing more than a thinly veile by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Common guys, someone is trying to sell/push some future product. The BS radar went off straight away. Try harder next time.

  14. Strange by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The article show a bullet hole that went through the product. So how good is that?

    1. Re:Strange by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      When you test something, you push it to the point of failure.

  15. Concussions are a red herring. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Concussions are a red herring. The real problem is tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of sub-concussive hits. Over time these subtly damage the brain to the point that many start to fail, some quite early in life.

    Football, and yes sports like rugby too, are inherently destructive to the human brain and body. Of course so are many other activities that we choose. The extent to which that choice is informed, that is the question.

    The fundamental issue is objective analysis and dissemination of truth - both highly compromised by moneyed interests and political power.

  16. Hipster sales gimic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sorry, but this really sounds like some hipster sales gimmick. Wouldn't they just love to be able to explain to everyone why their are wearing a helmet that looks like a shell on their head?

  17. Captain Nemo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    was right!

  18. Fine, I'll say it by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    All hail the magic conch!

  19. storm trouper armor by cleveralias · · Score: 1

    Conch shells are white. Storm trouper armor is white. I have an idea...

    --
    This comment is covered by the Popeye standard disclaimer.
  20. Phhpphhhtttfptt!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For the low, low price of $1,000, I will sell you my patented conch shell helmet.

    It's just a conch shell perched on your head as a helmet. Hey, don't mess with Mother Nature, she's the best!