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Written by CB Team
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Wednesday, 15 February 2006 |
We was watching the Winter Olympics the other day and was thinking the US had some pretty cool looking ski suites. However we did not realise they were in fact wearing a new technology called d3o.
This is a new flexible material that instantly hardens into armour upon impact can be worn under normal ski clothing which allows the skiers greater movement without having to wear extra body amour.
Developed by a Ski-wear company called Spyder, the liquid d3o is poured into moulds to match the shape of the body part it will protect. Here is the techie bit......
"The resulting material exhibits a material property called "strain rate sensitivity". Under normal conditions the molecules within the material are weakly bound and can move past each with ease, making the material flexible. But the shock of sudden deformation causes the chemical bonds to strengthen and the moving molecules to lock, turning the material into a more solid, protective shield."
The technology is already been considered in other sports and know doubt will be used outside sport from a military point of view.
[Via NewScientist]
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