Lobsters inspired scientists to create "superhero" armor

Military, police and security officersdaily put their lives at mortal risk, so they need maximum protection from gunshot wounds. With this at the moment armored vests are doing an excellent job, but they have a big minus - they hinder movement. Moreover, they are made of Kevlar with a shelf life of no more than 5 years, and often require individual adjustment for female officers. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have figured out how to get rid of all these minuses - the idea was inspired by lobsters.

According to the assistant professor of mechanical engineering MingGuo, the idea of ​​creating "superhero" armor came to his mind while eating lobster. He noticed that the transparent membrane on the belly of an animal is very difficult to chew on because of its complex structure. It consists of tens of thousands of layers that help it dissipate energy under strong pressure. Perhaps it is thanks to this protection that lobsters survive on the planet for 100 million years.

The researchers concluded that recreatingsuch a structure, they can create synthetic materials with the best ratio of softness and strength. They can form the basis of flexible armor, which protects the whole body without compromising the mobility of the limbs. The future bulletproof vests will have a lot of advantages: which only means increased accuracy of shooting and reduced fatigue due to the ease of movement.

New materials that will not yield tostrength industrial rubber, there is a use not only in body armor. They can also be useful in robotics - just imagine a robot that is not afraid of falling and other physical damage. It is also possible that someone will sew from materials a real superhero costume.

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