
How to Make a Bulletproof T-shirt - mattjaynes
http://news.discovery.com/tech/t-shirt-body-armor-tank.html
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ryanelkins
I'm disappointed. I was all ready to make at bulletproof shirt. These
instructions are not easy to follow at all. Anyone have a good recipe for
"black solution of boron"? Also, my oven apparently does not go to 1000.
Disappointing indeed.

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failquicker
"black solution of boron" is a bit ubiquitous. But there are enough forms of
boron readily available on the market that several "likely candidate" test
batches could be produced easily. And your oven will go to 1000C, just not
your conventional oven. Your microwave oven will hit 1000C and beyond, you'll
just need to tape off the air vent and use a refractory of some sort. I've use
silicon carbide and ceramic weave to melt copper in my microwave. It's melting
point is just north of 1000C. So cheap walmart T's + boron + a freecycle
microwave and you could be on your way to a kickass new startup. Let me know
when you start the seed round.

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iuguy
I would like to invest in this startup.

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jeromec
_After an hour, the strips were removed from the solution and baked in at oven
at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius_

Am I the only one that thinks this would not be out of place in a comic book
describing a hero making his costume?

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TNO
What good is a highly flexible bullet-proof material if it stops the bullet
somewhere inside or on the other side of your body?

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jeromec
Watch the first video starting at about 1:10. From my understanding the
material could have two properties -- being both soft and pliable, but also
becoming hard as a board instantly upon impact as from a bullet.

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bh23ha
So it's like a Newtonian fluid? Didn't the mythbusters shoot a corn starch
solution to find out if it can stop bullets? It could not, but maybe this
thing can?

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jeromec
I think what they are saying is that it can go from having properties of
Newtonian fluid (like water) to something as stiff as a board under magnetic
influence.

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jrockway
_"We expect that the nanowires can capture a bullet," said Li._

TIAS?

(Google doesn't seem to know TIAS, it's "Try It And See"?)

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kilian
It seems a bit premature, indeed. Disappointing journalism.

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jackfoxy
Yeah, crappy science/tech journalism strikes again. With a little effort the
writer and editor could have made the article and title just as engaging,
without the misleading hype.

From my understanding the weave also plays a big role in bullet resistant
fabrics. ...and yes, catching the bullet on "the other side", while not ideal
can still save your life.

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dc2k08
By Eric Bland | _Thu Apr 1_ , 2010 07:00 AM ET

~~~
lotharbot
March 17 mention:

[http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cotton-T-shirts-Could-
Become-...](http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cotton-T-shirts-Could-Become-
Bullet-Proof-137689.shtml)

Xiaodong Li's CV (PDF format) mentions the paper (#147 in his list of
publications):

<http://www.me.sc.edu/fs/pdf/Chris_Li.pdf>

Seems to fit in with the rest of his research, as well. It could be an April
Fools Day prank, but there's enough out there to make me think it's not.

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jerf
Or, per the recent Mythbusters (another Discovery production), you can cover
every square inch of your torso in three phone books.

This may be less practical, but some evidence suggests it could work.

~~~
chronomex
And unlike T-shirts and boron, phone books show up on my porch unbidden.

