The Army could field new armor based on pearls and LEGOs

[Peter1469]

The Army could field new armor based on pearls and LEGOs

Interesting. And it will be more flexible than current armor. This stuff can be used for people to wear as well as armor for structures, vehicles and planes.

On the surface, pearls and LEGOs don’t seem to have much in common, and their connection to body armor seems more unusual still. However, all three have quite a bit in common, something U.S. Army researchers discovered when trying to figure out how to better protect soldiers on the battlefield.

While scientists at the U.S. Army’s Army Research Lab were researching ways to make tougher, more lightweight armor, they found the outer coating of pearls made for exceptionally tough armored protection. The coating, built with nacre or “mother of pearl,” is made from mollusks out of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate isn't particularly strong, but can be made considerably more resistant to impact by arranging it into a structure that resembles LEGO-like interlocking bricks.

Read the rest of the article at the link.