• Do it yourself bulletproof T-Shirt.
    83 replies, posted
[URL]http://news.discovery.com/tech/t-shirt-body-armor-tank.html[/URL] [QUOTE][URL="http://topics.treehugger.com/article/020L7fUeUw5wF"]T-shirts available at Wal-Mart[/URL] could be converted into wearable armor, according to scientists from South Carolina, Switzerland and China. By combining the carbon in the cotton with boron, the scientists have created a tough, lightweight fabric of boron carbide, the same material used to protect tanks. The research could lead to more comfortable [URL="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/helmets_for_cyc.php"]body armor[/URL] for soldiers and police. It could even be used to produce lightweight, fuel efficient cars and [URL="http://news.discovery.com/tech/nasa-aircraft-puffin-transportation.html"]aircraft[/URL]. "The current boron carbide armor is strong, but its not flexible and its very heavy," said Xiaodong Li, a scientist at the University of South Carolina and co-author of a recent article in the journal [I]Advanced Materials[/I]. "We tried to solve this problem but with a different approach. In our approach, we used cotton T-shirts." Boron carbide is the third hardest material on Earth, after diamond and another boron-based material. In bulletproof vests and tanks, thick, heavy ceramic plates of dark gray boron carbide [URL="http://news.discovery.com/tech/computer-assisted-rehab-soliders.html"]protect soldiers[/URL] and police. Cotton, however, couldn't be more different from boron carbide. Soft and breathable, cotton clothes are cheap and widely worn. The trick for the scientists was combining dissolved boron with the carbon fibers inside the cotton fibers to form boron carbide. The scientists started with a $5 package of plain, white T-shirts purchased at Wal-Mart, which they then cut into thin strips. They dipped those white cotton strips into a black solution of boron. After an hour, the strips were removed from the solution and baked in at oven at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius (1832 degrees Fahrenheit) for an hour. The heat stripped away anything that wasn't carbon or boron, and combined these two elements into boron carbide. The resulting fabric is very different than the original materials that at the start of the process. It's lighter, stronger, tougher and stiffer than the original cotton, but it can still be bent, unlike normal boron carbide armor plates. The physical properties of the new fabric are still being tested, said Li, but "from our preliminary results we can say the test have been very, very promising." "We expect that the nanowires can capture a bullet," said Li. The former T-shirt can also block other hazards as well, such as cancer-causing [URL="http://news.discovery.com/history/ultraviolet-light-uncovers-real-giotto.html"]ultraviolet light[/URL] from the sun and even life-threatening neutrons emitted by decaying radioactive materials, said Li. Body armor is just one potential application of the new research. Covering cars or aircraft with cotton-based boron carbide, instead of the metal used today, would make these vehicles significantly lighter and more fuel efficient. The number of potential applications is enormous, said Nicholas Kotov, a scientist at the University of Michigan who also works on developing new materials for body armor. "In bulk the layers of this material are quite strong," said Kotov. "It's a great project and is very interesting and dynamic research direction." [/QUOTE]I'm going to go make myself some armored jeans too.
Lets send our troops into battle, with style.
That is so cool.
Damn, my oven doesn't go up to 1,000 degrees Celsius :saddowns:
Shouldn't that be 'bullet[i]resistant[/i]'? :eng101: (Not a pun).
DIY bulletproof armour eh? Worst. Idea. [b]ever![/b] EDIT: Wait a fucking minute, I need to make boots out of this shit. [b]BULLET PROOF TOE CAP MOTHER FUCKERS!!![/b] :v:
That's pretty cool.
Sweet, I need some boron and a stove that does 1000 C
Title is a little misleading, thought this was something you could do with supplies that were easily obtainable. Who the fuck has boron and a 1000 degrees Celcius oven lying around
[QUOTE=Itachi_Crow;21168233]Title is a little misleading, thought this was something you could do with supplies that were easily obtainable. Who the fuck has boron and a 1000 degrees Celcius oven lying around[/QUOTE] You can find it on Ebay. [IMG]http://blog1.ebates.com/ebates/ebay.png[/IMG]
Boron can be bought fairly easily I believe, and a blowtorch will hit 1000!! :science:
Gangbangers will be invincible now.
[QUOTE=hl2poo;21168419]Gangbangers will be invincible now.[/QUOTE] My thoughts exactly.
[QUOTE=hl2poo;21168419]Gangbangers will be invincible now.[/QUOTE] Oh god damn it.
[QUOTE=Cidem;21168090]Lets send our troops into battle, with style.[/QUOTE] In a white Wal-Mart t-shirt? I don't think so.
So I can buy some Boron pills from the vitamin store, suspend them in solution and soak my shirts in it, then put them in a kiln at 1800F. Sounds pretty simple actually.
[QUOTE=hl2poo;21168419]Gangbangers will be invincible now.[/QUOTE] Aim for the head. If it won't kill them, at least it'll knock them unconscious. Also, the impact would hurt like hell, even in the modified clothing. To an extent of incapacitating them for short periods of time.
[QUOTE=Cidem;21168090]Lets send our troops into battle, with style.[/QUOTE] Nothing says "Fuck you!" to terrorist by sending in soldiers wearing J. Crew or Ambercrombie.
[QUOTE=Identity;21169626]Nothing says "Fuck you!" to terrorist by sending in soldiers wearing J. Crew or Ambercrombie.[/QUOTE] "Haha, you're firing RPGs at something your women and children made!"
[QUOTE=gufu;21169276]Aim for the head. If it won't kill them, at least it'll knock them unconscious. Also, the impact would hurt like hell, even in the modified clothing. To an extent of incapacitating them for short periods of time.[/QUOTE] They will wear two T Shirts, and they will go all the way down to their knees like gangsters. Caps will be bulletproof, shoes, ski masks.
The place I work at has boron and a 1000 C oven :dance: I'll see if I can get the manager to let me use some of that shit
[QUOTE=FPChris;21169920]They will wear two T Shirts, and they will go all the way down to their knees like gangsters. Caps will be bulletproof, shoes, ski masks.[/QUOTE] Bullet resistant shit stops a bullet. Not the energy it carries. If a bullet hits you in the face, resistant shield or not, your knocked out at the very least.
[QUOTE=ButtsexV2;21170377]The place I work at has boron and a 1000 C oven :dance: I'll see if I can get the manager to let me use some of that shit[/QUOTE] who the fuck do you work for? the military?
Next step is a can of bulletproof antiperspirant
[QUOTE=TheHydra;21170513]who the fuck do you work for? the military?[/QUOTE] pedology lab, the oven is to rapidly dry out the dirt, not sure about the other shit though.
I like when you have 2 things that aren't very interesting, then you combine them and suddenly it's got sci-fi magical properties.
[QUOTE=hl2poo;21168419]Gangbangers will be invincible now.[/QUOTE] Not to worry, we have Rednecks: [img]http://www.jeremywise.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/50cal2.png[/img]
fuck this sounds really cool! talk about REAL Underarmor
[QUOTE=Mr_Sun;21171082]fuck this sounds really cool! talk about REAL Underarmor[/QUOTE] underarmor is made of spandex.
[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;21171058]Not to worry, we have Rednecks: [img]http://www.jeremywise.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/50cal2.png[/img][/QUOTE] Jesus, that's an AM rifle. I don't care if you're wearing dragon scale, if that Barret pegs you at 500 yds you're gonna be in the ground.
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