MILITARY TECHNOLOGY UPDATE: BODY ARMOR

Interesting advances in materials is making body armor lighter, tougher . . .



Bulletproof liquid:



Kelvar is getting an upgrade. When mixed with the new shear thickening liquid, the 'custard' like result will absorb the force of a bullet strike by becoming thicker and stickier.


Armored T-shirts



Using cotton fibers woven together with boron carbide nanowires, cotton T-shirt samples were soaked in a solution containing boron powder and a nickel-based catalyst, and then heated to 2012 degrees F (1100 degrees C) under a stream of argon that prevented the material from burning. The cotton fibers changed to carbon fibers during the process, and reacted with the boron powder to create boron carbide. The end results is material that is both strong and super flexible.