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BYU engineering professors have created an origami-inspired, lightweight bulletproof shield that can protect law enforcement from gunfire.
The new barrier can be folded compactly when not in use, making it easier to transport and deploy. When expanded—which takes only five seconds—it can provide cover for officers and stop bullets from several types of handguns.
...
In working with law enforcement, BYU researchers learned much of what is currently used hasn't evolved much from medieval times: shields that are mostly flat, awkward plates that cover only one person. Current barriers are so heavy and cumbersome they make it difficult for officers to move into position.The barrier Howell and his colleagues designed is made of 12 layers of bulletproof Kevlar and weighs only 55 pounds (many of the steel-based barriers in current use approach 100 pounds). The BYU-built barrier uses a Yoshimura origami crease pattern to expand around an officer, providing protection on the side in addition to protecting them in the front.
Aren't police using exploding robots in that kind of situation now?
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Saturday February 18 2017, @02:01AM
TFA is talking about handgun cartridges. My Mini 30 will have more power than any handgun you care to come up with.
/ um, I might wanna fact check this
// .454 Casull might beat my 7.62x39
/// damn that was close, but 1/2 mv^2 means my 2450 fps beats your 1445 fps
//// doesn't matter your load has twice the mass of my load
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Saturday February 18 2017, @02:11AM
.500 S&W Magnum has about the same energy as a 12 gauge slug. I bet that'll penetrate. Also in my state a carry permit allows concealed or open carry of any firearm.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 18 2017, @02:26AM
Need to test it. Some rounds may penetrate, others may not. It isn't a straight up equation, "more energy penetrates better".
wikipedia has a decent article on "cop killer bullets" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teflon-coated_bullet [wikipedia.org]
and LA Times has a liberal slanted editorial on the subject - http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-ammo-atf-delays-ban-on-armor-piercing-bullets-20150312-story.html [latimes.com]
Needless to say, being hit in the chest with a 12 guage slug is probably going to knock you on your ass, whether it penetrates or not. And, you're probably not going to jump back up, ready for action. Everything I've read and heard on the subject says that being hit in the chest with a sledge hammer hurts like hell, no matter how much armor you're wearing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 18 2017, @09:04AM
Teflon coated bullets?
I wonder how machined tungsten bullets would fare ( albeit your gun won't last very long )?
Or tungsten/depleted uranium alloy ( using uranium for its metallic properties, not its radioactive properties ).
Or would these babies just go right through and not cause enough damage?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 18 2017, @02:30PM
Brass was used for some "armor" peircing rounds, with either steel or tungsten cores. The brass ate barrels up like candy. A tungsten bullet would be worse by a long shot. Better to use just a plain old lead alloy, and put the armor peircing core in the center of the lead. Think "saboted rounds". Consider the lead to be nothing more than a sabot.
If you'll read the links again, you'll find that the teflon doesn't help to peirce body armor any. Instead, it "grips" metal door panels and windshields, preventing deflection or ricochet. It seems counterintuitive, but that's what the article claims.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Saturday February 18 2017, @04:19PM
> The brass ate barrels up like candy.
Brass-cased cartridges are the most popular type of ammunition on the market today [...]
-- http://ammo.com/casing-type/brass [ammo.com]
Am I missing something?
(Score: 3, Informative) by deimtee on Saturday February 18 2017, @07:04PM
The difference between a brass cartridge that holds the propellent and is ejected out the breech, and a brass coated round that travels down the barrel at high speed.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 18 2017, @10:16PM
What Deimtee sais - the brass casing stays in the chamber of your weapon, while the bullet travels down the barrel. The casing causes no wear.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday February 18 2017, @12:32PM
Also, wouldn't hitting that thing repeatedly knock it out of the way, even if the slugs don't penetrate right away? Hit it on the edge with the few shots, get the shield to rotate 90 degrees, then shoot person who had been hiding behind it.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Saturday February 18 2017, @02:54AM
I had never heard of that cartridge before, and can't imagine shooting it out of a handgun.
In other words, better hit what you aim for cuz if the bad guy has a gun he's got 3-4 shots on you before you get another aim sight.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 18 2017, @03:47AM
.54 pistola here. Hawken. Single shot, muzzleloaded, but really, that is all you need. Especially against Mormon origami! (We saw how quickly that folds at Malheur.)