Shear Thickening Fluid (STF)

A new nanotechnology known as Shear Thickening Fluid (STF) created by scientists at ARL and UDTC looks set to provide the next generation of armor. STF has the ability to make ballistic fabrics highly resistant to penetration when impacted by a spike, knife or bullet without compromising their weight, comfort or flexibility. The potential applications of STF include a wide range of products such as body armor, vehicle armor, helmets, gloves and bomb blankets to protect soldiers and law enforcement officials plus myriad industrial safety applications all the way through to protective clothing for motorcyclists. When the first products become available later this year, soldiers can expect to be much safer as the liquid body armor can be used in sleeves and pants, which are not usually protected by ballistic vests because they must stay flexible. Sometimes referred to as "liquid armor," the material is actually a nanotechnology that exists in a flexible, fluid-like state under normal conditions but adopts seemingly rigid qualities and becomes less penetrable when impacted.

Source: gizmag.co.ukAdded: 24 August 2006