There was some discussion of body armor here: http://www.theliberalgunclub.com/phpBB3 ... 40&t=35800
But that was originally policy oriented, as in "should civilians be allowed to own and wear body armor?"
It digressed into a discussion of the technical aspects of body armor and the possibility of cheap, DIY body armor (ceramic tile, metal plate, some type of penetration resistant fabric or padding).
I started this new thread on body armor to discuss technical aspects. The article below is about a new type of "bullet shattering" plate material made of a metallic foam, which is composed of hollow beads embedded within a plate of another metal. I don't understand why the hollow cavities would increase the strength of the material, unless this allows very limited compression. They also don't say what it is made out of, but likely a dense metal. The video is impressive.
Watch this metal foam turn an armor-piercing bullet into dust
http://www.techspot.com/news/64392-watc ... -dust.html
Body armor
1"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin