Just imagine getting up for work one day and putting on your wetsuit like “second skin”, made from a space age nanoparticle technology which was custom fit to your body by literally pouring it on and letting it dry. If you’re a police officer or soldier, this may be exactly how you start your day if the folks at Armor Holdings have anything to say about it.
That’s because their new liquid armor is a thin, light, material which is knife and bullet resistant. The material, made of a shear thickening fluid that harden when a sudden force is applied, is light, flexible and solidifies on impact. While this material may not supplant Kevlar, it certainly adds a valuable layer of protection for our service men and women. In fact, it’s already being used by Olympic Skiers.
But if you think a little farther ahead, I could envision this technology making its way into many other areas of modern life. For example, liquid armor gloves would be excellent for chefs who work around sharp knives all day, or for machinists whose hands are constantly in dangerous places.
And how about motorcycle helmets, jackets and pants. Nothing is more abrasive than asphalt at 60 mph, and it would be great to have a material that would actually get harder the greater the stresses applied to it.
The possibilities are endless, but one thing I’m sure of is that this is only one of the first high profile cases to showcase new nanotechnology. Scientists are working on other nano tech gadgets and gear that will do everything from replace camera lenses with ‘morphing gels’ to improve battery life and photovoltaic energy production.
The next decade or two may be the most interesting in the history of mankind. To read about more nano-tech projects that are in the works check out Nanotechnology Now. To read how this liquid armor technology works, check here.
