Skiers get Batman style smart body armour

Skiwear company Spyder, based in Colorado, have developed a new material that hardens on impact.

Skiers wear a suit made of a lightweight material, know as d3o, under their regular clothing instead of conventional bulky armour. The molecules in the suit are weakly bonded under normal conditions and maintain flexibility. However, sudden impact causes the molecular bonds to strengthen; making the material more rigid.

More work is needed to improve the material though, as the rigidness lasts only as long as the impact.

However, Green believes it may be possible to alter the properties of d3o for new applications. “There are certainly opportunities to dabble with the chemistry and enhance the effect,” he told New Scientist. The ultimate goal is “flexible ballistic protection”, he says.

Link (New Scientist)