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The Orange Goo Used In Everything From Armor To Football Helmets (cnn.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the liquids-that-turn-solid dept.

dryriver writes: CNN has a story about a slimy, gooey orange gel developed by British company D3O as far back as 1999 that is very soft and fluid-like normally, but that hardens immediately when it receives an impact: It's a gel that acts as both a liquid and a solid. When handled slowly the goo is soft and flexible but the moment it receives an impact, it hardens. It's all thanks to the gel's shock-absorbing properties... Felicity Boyce, a material developer at D3O, told CNN, "if you hit it with great force, it behaves more like a solid that's absorbing the shock and none of that impact goes through my hand."

American football has become a huge market for the British company, where the gel is incorporated in padding and helmets to absorb the impact of any hits a player receives. D3O claims it can reduce blunt impact by 53% compared to materials like foam. The material can also be put inside running shoes to improve performance and reduce the risk of foot injury. Usain Bolt ran with D3O gel insoles in his shoes at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The material is being tested in body armor. "While we don't have a material that can stop a bullet, we do have a material that can reduce the amount of trauma that your body would experience if you got shot." There are also soft smartphone casings using the gel that harden when the phone is dropped and hits a hard surface.

14 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. SubjectIsSubject by p0p0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "British company mixes cornstarch and water, makes billions."

    1. Re:SubjectIsSubject by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's a non Newtonian fluid, but it's not cornstarch

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      There's a video here

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fin...

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  2. Rugby players don't wear high tech helmets by Hal_Porter · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now as an American you'll say "Don't they all get terrible brain damage?"

    And the answer is "Yes, of course they all do. Have you met any rugby players?"

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    1. Re:Rugby players don't wear high tech helmets by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 3, Funny

      buddy Hey, rugyb palyer I was.

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      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:Rugby players don't wear high tech helmets by Ormy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      As someone who played rugby extensively, I can tell you this is simply false. American football is more of a [i]collision[/i] sport, whilst rugby is a contact sport. In American football a tackle means running into your opponent as fast as possible to take him out (put him to the ground), after that there is very little 'wrestling' for control of the ball, rugby is the exact opposite in that most of the contact involves wrestling for the ball rather than straight impact. High speed collisions between players are less frequent in rugby so less concussions. Also, as others have said there is no hard protective gear worn in rugby, less hard objects to hit means less concussions. Finally, the style of tackling used in rugby means that two heads banging together in a tackle is less common than in American football, so less concussions. I'm not saying rugby has less injuries overall, just a lower proportion of conussions/brain damage.

    3. Re:Rugby players don't wear high tech helmets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      He said brain damage, not writing like a teenager.

      You can distinguish between the two? Man, you're good...

    4. Re:Rugby players don't wear high tech helmets by Hal_Porter · · Score: 3, Funny

      One of the early signs of brain damage is mistyping < as [ and > as ]

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  3. Water and corn starch by mejustme · · Score: 2

    Isn't this what you get when you mix water with corn starch?

    Some of the science behind it explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  4. It is called a Non-Newtonian fluid by skullandbones99 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... for details.

    I see that it was a CNN report, that explains were the big science words were missing...

  5. It's more than "just" a non-Newtonian fluid... by ClarkMills · · Score: 2

    ...as they can cast it into "solid" forms. Try plastering your head with wet cornflour... Apart from the obvious mess & amusement, it will drip off the areas where you want the fluid to stay. The video on the site isn't half bad, watch it...

  6. Oobleck by Heebie · · Score: 2

    Someone discovered oobleck? (or some similar non-newtownian fluid) So.. corn starch, water, orange food colouring, and a strong, flexible, plastic bag to hold it in? (probably moulded plastic pieces that hold it in a particular shape until it's needed.) Why is this news NOW? Most high-schoolers would have known this recipe back in the 1980's.

  7. Re:On Discovery Channel by willy_me · · Score: 2

    Because it is soft, it will conform to the required shape. Upon impact, it would harden and more evenly distribute the energy to whatever shape is required. It is therefor more suitable to protect shapes that are dynamic or otherwise unknown during manufacturing. At least, that is the theory. If the shape is known, you are correct is assuming that the benefits are minimal and a more traditional material will offer better performance.

  8. Wrong by lucaiaco · · Score: 2

    Since Rugby players don't hit each others with a helmet, they have almost no concussion or brain damage since it’s the helmet that allows for harder hits and a harder projectile.

  9. Re:On Discovery Channel by rtb61 · · Score: 2

    So it actually just lessens damage to the skull, distributing the impact over a wider area of the skull but as it acts like a solid, it transfers the full force of the impact to the brain, in fact more than without the helmet, because deformation of the skull would actually absorb some of the force. The gel has zero shock 'absorbing' ability when it acts as a solid as claimed, it transfer all the force to the surface being protected it just distributes it over a wider area. Thick foam under a deformable helmet is probably better for the brain, as the inertial load is reduced and energy is dissipated in the deformation of the helmet and it's heavy duty foam liner. Likely this material should be banned from contact sports as too much inertial impact load is transfer to the brain, you saved a bump on the head but did more damage to the brain instead, not a good way to go. The thicker the layer of foam, the more it deforms, the less the impact of your brain against your skull.

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    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen