US makes strongest-ever armor material with 100 trillion bonds/cm²
The first-ever 2D polymer with mechanically interlocked bonds developed in the US shows high flexibility and strength.
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Why don't they just use diamond, the hardest metal?
I thought Dragonforce was the hardest metal known to man?
Lol, this
Hardness isn't the best thing to have in armor. In fact, extreme hardness means extreme brittleness.
Tensile strength is more desirable in armor. That's the sort of strength that a string or rope, or Kevlar will have.
Those can stretch a bit before breaking.
Kevlar will stretch a bit when catching a bullet, this does a few things, but importantly it slows the bullet before stopping it.
So this new material will likely show extreme tensile strength rather than hardness.
Correct. 🙂 Reminds me of when I wanted new tires & I was complaining about how some tires were rated for a criminally short life. I wondered which ones lasted the longest.
The mechanic then remarked that sure, they can make tires that last a hell of a long time & never puncture. But the ride would be so terrible because the tires would be tough, stiff, would work your suspension harder, and it would cost a fortune to boot. It's not worth it. There are multiple material, usage considerations when making a product. Really makes you appreciate the experts in their various fields.
Not to mention, really hard tires would have very poor grip. The rubber needs to be a bit softer to squish around all of the little imperfections in the road, technically increasing the contact area and providing a little lateral bracing (probably not the right term so I hope I'm making sense). This is why a lot of performance tires have shorter lifespans then other tire types, because in addition to a different tread pattern, they also often use a softer, "stickier" rubber, which wears out faster.
