Absolutely indestructable armor

[neuvik]

....
Mithril is great. But, if someone hits you with a baseball bat... Well, you'll be picking your puckered flesh from between those mithril links.

Mace +1....its a bat!

 

[a_lost_packet_]

....
Mithril is great. But, if someone hits you with a baseball bat... Well, you'll be picking your puckered flesh from between those mithril links.

Mace +1....its a bat!

Heh heh.

Romans Used 20-Sided Dice Two Millennia Before D&D
Many of us geeks take great pride in the ability to recite the history of role-playing games based on the 20-sided die, but what about the history of the die itself? Apparently it predates the original Dungeons and Dragons by almost two millenia.

Christie’s, auctioneer to the rich and famous, sold a glass d20 from Roman times. It was included in a collection of other antiquities that sold in 2003. The markings on the die don’t appear to be either Arabic or Roman numerals, but it’s probably a safe bet that it was used in a game of chance. As the auction catalog notes that several polyhedral dice are known from the Roman era, but remarks, " Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used."

CRITICAL HIT!

 

[Solifugae]

Are there any known, or theoretical (but not currently mass producible) materials which exceed everday structural steels and current composite armor strength in ALL areas, not just specific ones? Carbon nanotubes for example, have ENORMOUS tensile strength, but apparently quite poor compressive strength, and as for their hardness, couldn't they be cut/abraded easily? What about its impact strength? Many of these "super materials" of the future, only succeed in a particular area for a particular purpose, whereas the best armor needs to have a wide range of resistance. A current bullet proof vest is little protection against a combat knife.

For real SUPER-ARMOR, you need something that surpasses typical materials in all ways, so that even if you are being cut, crushed, impacted, burnt, it will withstand the punishment.

 

[a_lost_packet_]

Are there any known, or theoretical (but not currently mass producible) materials which exceed everday structural steels and current composite armor strength in ALL areas, not just specific ones?

[ulr=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unobtainium]Unobtainium[/url]?

Basically, my suggestion would be to use a laminate with a composite core and ballistic ceramics in critical areas.

A current bullet proof vest is little protection against a combat knife.

Actually, they're pretty good protection. A soft vest worn by some police forces may not be great, that's true. But, tactical vests and stab-rated vests still offer good soft protection against knives. Combat vests would have similar or greater protection - they have to withstand shrapnel, after all.

For real SUPER-ARMOR, you need something that surpasses typical materials in all ways, so that even if you are being cut, crushed, impacted, burnt, it will withstand the punishment.

A laminate that takes advantages of several different types of material along with a core (that isn't suitable for lamination) and ballistic plates (for the really rough stuff) is the way to go, IMO. IF, that is, you're looking for what is commonly available in the industrial materials marketplace.

For Science Fiction.. well, there's always Unobtainium!

 

[Solifugae]

I mean stuff like carbon nanotubes - they already surpass steel in the tensile area, but what about other areas? I don't think this is science fiction stuff. Composites are good, but I'm thinking more alloys than composites, or you could call them nano-composites. Composite amor is just layers of material right? Whereas a singular material that cover as many bases as possible would be more economical as well as being more impervious (less need to replace plates).
Oddly I hear little about combining the strong carbon allotrope with other materials. Could we cover the deficiencies in carbon nanotubes by filling them with materials that cover the areas the nanotubes lack?

Like, what about for tank armor: carbon nanotubes filled with tungsten, so it's bonded as a single material. Tanks usually incorporate dense materials in their armor, as well as materials which will absorb shock. Could a carbon nanotube material be a "better kevlar", catching projectiles due to its tensile strength, while being backed up by a dense material with a very high melting point that is resistant to being breached by things like shaped charges, which fire molten metal into the target. I'm not sure if this would work, but you can see this is just for examples sake.

 

[a_lost_packet_]

... Could we cover the deficiencies in carbon nanotubes by filling them with materials that cover the areas the nanotubes lack?

Instead of trying to "fill them" you'd encapsulate them in a medium, like an epoxy resin and then bond it to another material, like kevlar. Sort of a high-tech fiberglass. Build the layers up and you have 21'st century lamellar armor.

Like, what about for tank armor: carbon nanotubes filled with tungsten, so it's bonded as a single material. Tanks usually incorporate dense materials in their armor, as well as materials which will absorb shock. Could a carbon nanotube material be a "better kevlar", catching projectiles due to its tensile strength, while being backed up by a dense material with a very high melting point that is resistant to being breached by things like shaped charges, which fire molten metal into the target. I'm not sure if this would work, but you can see this is just for examples sake.

Ceramics, some composites themselves, seem the way to go when combined within other materials. Thank the Brits for this - Chobham Armor

 

[bdewoody]

How about the personal force shield as in the original Dune movie?

 

[rocketmonkey]

Actually, carbon nanotubes can be used for several things. They are lightweight, extremely strong and hard to break with all practical weapons, provides electricity, can be grown much faster than grass, can be very long, and conduct electricity through it.

I might use the force shield, but the items to create the shield would be heavy, too, wouldn't it? :?

 

[Shpaget]

You're writing a SF story, right?
So why are you worried about the size? You can make it a matchbox sized if you wish.
If you're going for realism, the whole concept of something indestructible is ridiculous, not to mention bordering on god modding.

 

[a_lost_packet_]

...I might use the force shield, but the items to create the shield would be heavy, too, wouldn't it? :?

The problems with the concept of "shields" usually revolve around some sort of magnetic field. The problem there is that it could only effect charged particles. It may be effective at deflecting certain forms of radiation but might not be so great at handling a rock.

As far as weight, remember the "graphene" I mentioned? Well, a couple of new articles were just released on it.

Graphene-Based Catalyst

Breakthrough in Graphene

The Graphene could be a component of the superconductor needed to power your "shield" or a computer or some other near-future gimcrackery.

 

[a_lost_packet_]

Update: This just in..

Unusual Snail Shell Could Be a Model for Better Armor[/url]":2ngfjyq5]

ScienceDaily (Jan. 20, 2010) — Deep within the Kairei Indian hydrothermal vent field, two-and-one-half miles below the central Indian Ocean, scientists have discovered a gastropod mollusk, whose armor could improve load-bearing and protective materials in everything from aircraft hulls to sports equipment.

Researchers at the National Science Foundation-supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are studying the mollusk's physical and mechanical properties. A report, "Protection mechanisms of the iron-plated armor of a deep sea hydrothermal vent gastropod," appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The so-called "scaly-foot gastropod," has a unique tri-layered shell that may hold insights for future mechanical design principles. Specifically, it has a highly calcified inner layer, a thick organic middle layer. But, it's the extraordinary outer layer fused with granular iron sulfide that excites researchers....

So, basically, use some advanced materials and pattern it after this snail's shell.

 

[Saiph]

well, due to the nature of quantized electron orbits, and the pauli exclusion principle..what you suggest actually cannot be done.


If it could a simple reversal of the process, by subjecting it to lots of energy, would undo the efforts...and destroy the armor. It might be highly resilient and durable, but not indestructible.

 

[bdewoody]

[

...I might use the force shield, but the items to create the shield would be heavy, too, wouldn't it? :?

The problems with the concept of "shields" usually revolve around some sort of magnetic field. The problem there is that it could only effect charged particles. It may be effective at deflecting certain forms of radiation but might not be so great at handling a rock.

As far as weight, remember the "graphene" I mentioned? Well, a couple of new articles were just released on it.

Graphene-Based Catalyst

Breakthrough in Graphene

The Graphene could be a component of the superconductor needed to power your "shield" or a computer or some other near-future gimcrackery.

As I recall the personal shield in the movie DUNE worked on physical objects. Remember we aren't talking real physics here but Sci Fi physics.

 

[yevaud]

My God, it's Darth Vader-San, Ninjitsu of the Sith.

 

[a_lost_packet_]

My God, it's Darth Vader-San, Ninjitsu of the Sith.

<ahem>

That's pronounced "Darf Radar!" round-eye!


"Ruke, I ram ror faddawr."

"What?"

"RUKE!, I ram ror faddawr!"

"Huh?"

Ruke, crom tru da drark sride.

Wha?

Aw, the hell with this stupid round-eye!

<buzz, humm, zzzzzWAP!!!!>

NOOOOOoooo MY hand! WTF dude?

 

[rocketmonkey]

You probably haven't seen this movie, but...

Dark Helmet- "Lonestar... I am your mother's uncle's brother's father's girlfriend's best friend's boyfriend's best friend's roommate!"

Lonestar- "So what does that make us?"

Dark Helmet- "Nothing... Just as I shall make you..." :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: