Shear-thickening liquid hardens upon impact, makes for lighter and more effective body armor
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 9th 2010 1:14PM
posted July 9th 2010 1:14PM
Scientists at BAE Systems in Bristol, UK have come up with a "shear-thickening" (or dilatant) liquid that can be combined with Kevlar to create a new, more powerful bullet-proof material. Similar to the "body armor" used by some Olympic skiers, shear-thickening material acts as a lubricant at low velocities, but quickly hardens upon impact. The scientists describe it as "bullet-proof custard," which shouldn't make us hungry but is for some reason. According to the company, recent tests in which a large gas gun fired metal projectiles at over 300 meters / second into both thirty-one layers of untreated kevlar and ten layers of kevlar combined with the liquid have determined that the liquid armor could be used to effectively protect soldiers from bullets and shrapnel.
bauer is amused
@sedo
Now they'll be able to put in a scene of karate fighters being shot at and survive...
@sedo
Is your name is Sedin? This seems like a good step forward.
Hmmm... an automatic-hardening lubricant when hit...
You should start shaking, Viagra.
@sedo
DAMMMIT!!!!
@sedo
So they made a bullet proof vest out of ooblic, huh?
@sedo So, if one bathed themselves in said liquid, they would become bullet proof. Send me a tub of it!
@sedo
Same with Chuck Norris
How can we make an HEV suit with this?
@Neotyguy40
It would need a healing system.
And come with a crowbar as standard.
@Neotyguy40 Contrary to popular belief, my suit is actually a HEV suit, just with a Sith colour scheme
@Neotyguy40
The HEV doesn't have a healing system as such, it just dispenses morphine when you get injured. (I can now see Freeman getting addicted and hitting himself round the head with a crowbar to get a fix)
Although I guess it has some sort of healing system when you get to a "health recharge station"?
@petehix
Well, when being bitten by a poison headcrab, the suit detects the venom and releases an antidote, which raises your health meter up...
And who said non-Newtonian substances don't save lives?
@iFOREIGNi Umm... no one... I honestly don't think that anyone has ever said that phrase in the history of the human race.
What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this site is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
@TMoney2007 wow we got a troll right here may the downranking begin oh and maybe you shouldnt steal phrases when insulting ppl it makes you look dumber
@TMoney2007 A simple wrong would've done just fine.
@iFOREIGNi Didn't the Mythbusters try this in some kind of "Homemade bulletproof vest" bit and fail?
Well, at least someone got the idea to work.
@dschu012 Thank you for understanding that it was a joke.
@TMoney2007
"bullet-proof custard"
This refers to the fact that both custard and the new shear thickening liquid are both non-Newtonian liquids, meaning they harden under force.
You need to watch more Big Bang Theory Mr. Thicky.
Mix corn starch and water, same concept.
@The Shadow
Yeah but I'll take a bullet whilst wearing the BAE product rather than your custard.
@The Shadow I was thinking of that as well. It'd probably be pretty effective in comparison to this. Hell, maybe they actually use cornflour in it.
@The Shadow You can walk on a cornstarch/water mixture
@The Shadow Actually you do have a point.. I've tested both really cutting edge shear thickening liquids and the corn-starch and water mixture and if you get your proportions and confinement right both are comparable in results. However, the water component has an annoying habit of evaporating and as a result isn't an ideal thing to use in the field. So, the BAE system probably wins this round.
@The Shadow
...or buy some Silly Putty
Sounds like something out of a novel I read years ago... Blackcollar by Timothy Zahn. The Blackcollar warriors had a suit that wouldn't protect against knives, etc, but would stop bullets etc. Once again, sci-fi predicts the future.
I also presume that it wouldn't have been a new concept when Blackcollar was written, but that's where I first encountered it.
@tdenton1138 actually a normal kevlar vest isn't very good against a knife either, thats why most bullet proof vests have some kind of plate that protects against such things
I remember reading the the UNiversity of Delaware (I think) had developed this fluid like 3 or 4 years ago. It's about time this got into body armor.
@smokeyb111
You sir are correct. My friend was actually on the team. They were developing it for this very reason.
@Donnie +999 for avatar
I would think that some sort of protection for your junk would be of some use, wouldn't you?
@MIJ AGREED! thats the first thing I thought of as well.
Will be mostly use among BP executives..
The slow blade penetrates the shield.
@firimari But ah, look down....We'd have joined each other in death.
Can't beat Dragon's Skin, but still petty cool.
@kenny goo
On what grounds do you suppose this is true?
@kenny goo
Not for protection, but for flexibility it beats DragonSkin.
@kenny goo
It's not trying to beat Dragonskin. If you more about body armor then what you saw on Future Weapons you would see that this is a concealable vest, which tend to top out at level IIIA. Which will stop most hand gun rounds.
Dragonskin is made only for level III (which is higher then level IIIA) and above. And even on their concealable model, is not that concealable.
Also Dragonskin has major issues, and is banned from military usage after tests show that the vests fail under field conditions. And based on that testing the NIJ (LE) pulled it's certification.
@kenny goo
There have been loads of problems with DragonSkin, actually. The heat in desert environments (or a closed car on a hot day, for that matter) tends to cause the protective discs to detach from their backing and fall down into a pile at the Soldier's waist.
@PPGMD
"It's not trying to beat Dragonskin."
I realize that. They're two very different types of body armor for two very different purposes. But as far as which can hold its own against the power of a speeding bullet, Dragon's Skin is an incredible piece of technology, banned or not.
@kenny goo
I file Dragonskin under the "Great Idea, but Doesn't Work in Reality" bin.
Also Dragonskin is very heavy, almost twice the weight of Kevlar + ceramic plates for the same level of protection.
@PPGMD
I'm hardly a ballistics expert, but I doubt that Dragon's Skin is only as protective as standard, military issue Kevlar, otherwise there wouldn't be a market for Dragon's Skin.
@Hadley66 And dragon skin only works with direct shots. A shot from an angle slides between the scales. I don't know of many war situations where the enemy is kind enough to only shoot at you from head on.
@kenny goo
It is the same level of protection. Armor is rated to specific levels, IBA, and the new IOTV are rated level IV with a multi-hit capability, and Dragonskin comes in ratings of III to V, all levels with multi-hit capability.
What Dragonskin has going for it, is that it's flexible, and offers a variety of cuts, some with a greater amount of covered area. But either way it's heavier the IBA for the same covered area, and protection level.
300 meters per second is less than half of the muzzle velocity of a 7.62mm round fired from an AK-47 (700+ mps). The lowly 9mm fires at about 450 mps. Wake me when it can stop something fired from an actual gun. This is just press release puffery. BAE must have a capital effort underway or something...
@Jakejd That was only 10 layers of impregnated kevlar, if you bumped it up to 20, you'd probably get plenty of protection. Aside from that, we don't know what projectile they were using. If it was a pointed steel slug moving at 300 FPS, it would probably stop almost any handgun projectile just fine.
This probably isn't meant to stop rifle fire anyways.
Its all great but in the field kevlar is useless after about months of sweat gets into it. I want to see how effective it is after it worn by some in 100+ degree weather, hauling around 100 pound packs and getting the abuse that soldiers put on equipment, do the same extract tests again, but I bet you wont get the same results.
@moos3
As a member of law enforcement, and someone who wears Kevlar daily, your sweat comment worried me. Here is what I found.
"Both the F.B.I. and DuPont have conducted scouting studies on the effect of perspiration on body armor. Through June 1994, there is no evidence to suggest that an officer might soak his vest with enough sweat, during normal duty assignment, to affect ballistic performance."
http://www.recguns.com/Sources/XJ4.html