Liquid Body Armor Might Save Your Life

A bulletproof vest does not mean that you will be invincible to all bullets – and not only that, it hurts like heck if you were to be shot even with a vest on. A Polish firm happens to be working on the next generation of bulletproof gear, by working on ordinary looking fluids which will harden upon impact, and as a result, it would be able to deliver a lighter, more flexible protection while one is in the thick of action – and beyond, of course.

Moratex Institute of Security Technologies claims that a shear-thickening fluid, or STF, will not only be lighter, but it will also be a whole lot more flexible as opposed to standard anti-ballistic materials, and at the same time, offer a hardier barrier.

Marcin Struszczyk, deputy director of the research institute, said, “Even in cases when here is no penetration through the protective layer, the user can lose their life, or be badly injured. Thanks to the liquid’s properties, we eliminate 100 percent of this threat, because we’ve reduced the deflection from 4 centimeters to 1 centimeter.”

We do not know for sure what is the fluid made up of at the moment, but when fitted in a vest, it is capable of stopping bullets that are fired at 450 meters [about 1,476 feet] per second, which will also be able to prevent the often-lethal ricochets that can happen while one wears protection in the same vein. I guess you can call this some form of liquid armor, right? It sure looks set to be better than graphene.

Image courtesy of a screen grab by CNET off a Reuters video.

Edwin Kee
Categories: General
Tags: bullet proof