Liquid Ballistic Armor? | Thehacksmith Collab

Head on over to www.thebismuthsmith.com/givea... to enter the draw!
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Today we're testing if shear thickening fluid can make thehacksmith's john wick style three piece suit strong enough to stop bullet!
Check out their video and see the whole suit be made here:
• Making a BULLETPROOF J...
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[@theHacksmith]

Thanks for sending us the STF to experiment! We'll have to try some other advanced chemistry projects with you in the future! That tank armor sounds fascinating...

[@ryjunplayz8321]

First

[@pedrocaetano2120]

Best collab!

[@cassusego4608]

I wonder what your team could do with the plasma sputtering beam.

[@Randosu]

@@ryjunplayz8321 nice work

[@macinatire3769]

Imagine if STF was actually used for Tank armour

[@konayasai]

Fun fact: honey can be non-Newtonian depending on the flowers that went into it and a bunch of other parameters. Honey is really complicated.

[@meanieweeny4765]

this is quite insane

[@serta5727]

Is it possible to create oobleck from more stable materials?

[@gordslater]

@@serta5727 like hay or fodder? yeah you could try it

[@Robosium]

honey is also really tasty

[@notyouraveragegoldenpotato]

Duh. I wear a 20 gallon clover honey bucket around hung on my chest. Plates.... too expensive

[@andrewchapman2039]

"Nano[particles] son! They harden in response to physical trauma! You can't hurt me!"

[@XxX_afterHours_XxX]

STANDING HEEEERE I REALIIIIIZE

[@caiohenrique1603]

BRO IT FITS SO WELL

[@jamesharding3459]

@@XxX_afterHours_XxX_You were just like me_ _Trying to make history_

[@ConandeBrodo]

Crysis reference?

[@PlayerSlotAvailable]

@@ConandeBrodoMetal Gear Rising reference

[@TheBaconWizard]

According to a paper I read, 12nm is the ideal size for the silica. PEG to silica should be a 60:40 ratio and the PEG 400 benefits from a 5% addition of PEG 10,000 (possibly a higher % would be even better but studies had not been done at the time I was researching. The graph of results improved with every % addition of PEG 10,000 and the curve showed no sign of flattening, but the study stopped at 5%) and the whole mixture (including alcohol) should be sonicated for even distribution of the silica through the PEG The alcohol needs to be thoroughly evaporated off the aramid/kevlar/whatever so I would think baking it at 85c would be the way to go.

[@thethoughtemporium]

got a link to that paper?

[@TheBaconWizard]

@@thethoughtemporium I'm sorry, I don't THINK I do any more, this was just for a hobby project. It might be on my old hard-drive. I will look and if I find the folder i'll find a way to get them to you (2 separate papers actually, one about nano-particle size, the other about adding PEG 10,000) I would note, that the 12nm size might be specific, for example it might be LESS good at energy absorption but also allow for a higher density of Silica to PEG, I'm afraid I can't remember the specifics.

[@NuclearLama]

@@thethoughtemporium I read a paper that said .25 micron fumed silica. it also attributed the hold to micro vacuums made when the liquid was too thick to fill in the gaps fast enough.

[@chrismanuel9768]

@Ms Moon Boo They literally posted the source. Try reading more and being an attention desperate e-personality less

[@BigBoolinScienceMan]

​@@msmoonboosource = the paper he just stated.

[@blacklion79]

The best protection inserts for motorcycle equipment are made from materials with the same property, but more «solid» in free state, which looks like soft rubber (and doesn't restrict movement much) but becomes hard on impact and distributes impact energy on larger area.

[@tylera.2869]

Works great, too. When showing off my D3O pads to people, I demonstrate by putting one over my hand & hitting it with a hammer. The reactions are always priceless.

[@Mentholox]

They're not the best though. Not even close. They are by far the most comfortable though..

[@blacklion79]

@@Mentholox Best doesn't mean safest. Aerobags vests are safest (or not to ride a motorcycle at all).

[@melody3741]

This is ridiculous. If it turns hard the instant it hits am impact, THEN JUST BUILD IT HARD IN THE FIRST PLACE.

[@blacklion79]

@@melody3741 Try to have hard shell around your knee or elbow joint. It is possible, but very inconvenient for commuting, for example. For hard core sport like enduro or or motorcross - sure, double articulated, separate protection. For touring or commuting? Possible, but too much and very inconvenient.

[@darkmf666]

Might be interesting to look at deflocculants. When used in pottery sodium silicate(or other silicates) can be used to turn clay liquid for casting without increasing the water contents much. That way you get pretty viscous liquid with shear thickening properties.

[@Mis73rRand0m]

Deflocculants and Surfactants have been shown to add stability to a matrix, allowing for superconcentrated liquids - parhaps combine them with classified and selectively grown/mixed particle sizes to achieve maximum THICKNESS?

[@darkmf666]

@@Mis73rRand0m exactly! Also in the case of the clay, the clay particles look like flat platelets. In normal flocculated conditions they give the clay its plastic properties. But when they get deflocculated the platelets start repelling eachother and as such they keep in suspension for months before settling out, even at a high concentration of suspended particles. I'm sure this principle can also be used with different materials, preferably something lighter than clay :)

[@Steven_Edwards]

I'd be interested in mixing in deflocculants or carbon nanotube powder.

[@user-pi1kn8dg2s]

@@Steven_Edwards с языка сняли! 👍

[@135x]

@@Steven_Edwards in progress on that? Sounds interesting!

[@jhoughjr1]

Also, .45 is not chosen for its ability to penetrate armor. It's the worst round for penetrating armor of what is in common usage.

[@Adoffka]

Stopping power though. Imagine being hit in your best by sledgehammer

[@sergey_is_sergey]

​@@Adoffka What do you mean by "stopping power"? The kinetic energy of the bullet increases linearly with mass but exponentially with velocity. A regular 9mm round is generally on par with a .45 ACP in terms of force delivered even though the round is smaller. A 9mm +P+ round would blow the 45 ACP out of the water

[@jameskazd9951]

@@Adoffka the average .45 acp produces between 350-500 ft⋅lbf at the muzzle, the average 9mm is virtually the same. to compare, a 55 gr. (that is 1/3-1/4th the weight of most 45 acp) 5.56 (the round used in the AR 15 and by militaries worldwide) produces well over 1000 ft⋅lbf out of anything with a 16 inch or longer barrel

[@quentagonthornton49]

@@sergey_is_sergey There actually is some merit to what people call "stopping power". It's about energy transfer to the target. A heavier projectile at a lower velocity will tend to push the target while a lighter projectile at a higher velocity will tend to penetrate the target. Of course, the other aspect of this is projectile design and material which also has a major impact on effectiveness against different targets. Few firearms are made anymore for standard .45 ACP and generally are at least rated for +P, which significantly outperforms 9x19mm +P+ at 803 J instead of 679 J. Not to mention .45 Super which has 941 J of energy in the same case dimensions. And if you're willing to accept slightly different case dimensions from regular .45 ACP at 1/16" longer case but same OAL, .460 Rowland has 2280 J, outperforming intermediate rifle cartridges like 5.56 NATO and having similar performance to 6.8mm Remington SPC, a cartridge in between that of an intermediate rifle round and a full power rifle cartridge such as 7.62 NATO.

[@tricksterjoy9740]

@@sergey_is_sergeyarguably, stopping power is basically a thing, in regards to being shot while wearing body armor.

[@why6212]

This is great! I always hoped body armor could be more expensive. Try mixing the opal with HP printer ink

[@Zeppathy]

Mix in 3 ounces of powdered Unobtainium for best results.

[@agent57]

​@@rewrite1239 that really is a corundum

[@agent57]

@@rewrite1239 Thank you for the multifaceted reply. It really did help me get clarity on this subject.

[@fins59]

Opal with 'Joy' by Jean Patou should work well.

[@CrunchRosey]

Hacksmith: Hey we're making a bulletproof vest wanna help? This Guy: Yea I was just looking for a reason to make opal soup

[@OfficiallySnek]

Next collab: Hacksmith, *insert an American ballistics channel*, and I made a tank

[@reidster87]

I had a good chuckle when you mentioned ruining glassware over a shot of a Dollarama hermetic jar. I love those things for all kinds of stuff.

[@ethanmye-rs]

The interesting thing to look at would not be penetration, but damage - getting shot wearing soft armor may not result in bullet penetration, but it can easily bruise and crack ribs. You won’t see that find of improvment in the samples you were sent though. If you wanted to measure this, a force sensitive resistor grid with peak hold will give you a great idea of how (and if) the shear thickening fluid spread out the force appreciably.

[@O5MO]

Or just some kind of weights

[@Brent-jj6qi]

I mean, a bruise or cracked rib is at least a preferable alternative to like a punctured lung, although I guess a broken rib could lead to that

[@joeybible683]

Ya but if you could somehow layer a thin layer of soft armor over a thin plate of rigid armor, then youd having something very little and very resilient

[@personwhohasayoutubechannel3]

​@Brent-jj6qi we dont watch these videos for moderate and boring results. If it cant improve on very basic body armor then it's far from what you could consider a success

[@MysteryHardRocker]

Really nice scientific technique putting an empty bag in the control sample for the clay test. Absolutely perfect, these details usually matter a lot!

[@peterhans3791]

Is that sarcasm?

[@maizjsj]

It's a bag of nothing man you can't go wrong with a bag of nothing cmon

[@maxsmith8196]

How do you avoid the particles settling out of suspension when layering them like this?

[@waterunderthebridge7950]

To put it simply, sedimentation/creaming velocity (for particles denser/less dense than the solvent respectively) are counter-balanced by Brownian motion (the tendency of any particle to “disperse evenly” (imagine e.g. color mixing into water)). Below a certain threshold of about 1 micrometer in diameter, a sedimentation equilibrium can be reached where sedimentation is perfectly offset by Brownian motion, yielding a colloidal suspension.

[@forposterity4031]

@@waterunderthebridge7950 Nano-machines son.

[@trenvert123]

@@joshyoung1440 Go back to stackoverflow with that non-answer.

[@ivant5054]

make a polymer out of it, or something of the sorts of an ionic liquid, where one of the ion donors is a long chain hydrocarbon

[@JordanPlayz158]

@@trenvert123 LOL

[@OnnieKoski]

Such a cool idea. The ooblek was one of those first experiments I did in chemistry as a child and I still think it’s one of the coolest things ever. Never knew WHY it acted that way before. Thanks for explaining!

[@Rafale25]

Nanoparticles, son!

[@christophersmith8014]

I wondered what it would take to make a suit like that work in real life, but I figured it would have to integrate some electro or magneto rheological fluids.

[@petergerdes1094]

Yah, I was wondering about that. If you integrated some kind of piezoelectric material could the impact provide the necessary electric current to activate the material?

[@midshipman8654]

it might be significant to mention that 45 acp definitely has a kick, it is relitively slow compared to most bullets and has more of a “blunt force” sort of impact rather than “piercing”. its a larger bullet going at a (relitively) slower rate compared to something like a 9mm. so its good against soft targets, but tends to be easier to stop as well with protection.

[@GAFUKIS]

Yeeeahhhh the man uploaded!!!

[@danitobg4502]

Hey, on your video about making synthetic opals you mentioned that there are russian research papers about the subject but they are almost never translated. If you need somebody that can do i think i can help. It would be pleasure to help with something like that

[@sirllamaiii9708]

Bump

[@TheOneAndOnlySame]

3:10 nanomachines son

[@Lukas-qy2on]

would shear THINNING be better at say, dampening a fall than regular viscosity water? since it would be thinner while you were accelerating and then progressively harden?

[@watchinyoutube8919]

I don't think it would have a huge impact but definitely yes

[@Chrisspru]

to keep it functional you have to use a liquid, as the glue prevents the compressive stacking. to do that in a vest you basicly have to make the vest out of pockets like a down jacket, so bottoming out is confined to each pocket, and make two offset layers so the seams are not weakpoints. or you use this non-newtonian rubber mixture thats used for some sports protective gear as a glue for the particles.

[@Newt2799]

I love how professional these videos always are. Such obvious care and effort put into each of them, and such respect for the audience. It’s just nice

[@JWSmythe]

I have a less bullet stopping application. Think more of mitigating a hard punch, instead of a bullet. I wonder if PEG + corn starch + linen fabric would work as a replacement for 16g steel. I guess I'll be testing something of my own soon. While the opal looks like a lot of fun to make, I'm not set up to even attempt that here.

[@TheDeathless]

HOLD UP! Are you making steel foam in a microwave? Dude you cannot be just casually hinting at making steel foam in a microwave and not tell me how to do it.

[@alvinkoroth6695]

3:16 nanomachines, son. They harden in response to physical trauma

[@lperkins2]

The early uses (10+ years ago now) of STF in armor were to improve stab resistance, rather than bullet resistance. Would be interesting to know if your initial attempt did that. If so, improving the stab resist without compromising bullet resist, is a pretty big win.

[@thetriforceeagle8161]

This is the first video I’ve seen that actually explains how ooblek works, it’s super interesting how simple it really is

[@elirevzen418]

I'm so excited seeing all these little glimpses of your upcoming projects.

[@TheTwistedTraceur]

ah i was waiting for this video, great collab . absolutely loved it. would love to see more collaborations

[@MafiaCow01]

This is so cool. Didn't really consider that there could be non-newt liquids other than oobleck. And given that you brought it up, when do you think we can expect an update on the spider silk? Days, months, years?

[@roxasparks]

Had this idea years ago. Glad to see it being tested😊

[@armartin0003]

Nice experiment! Thanks for sharing

[@phirebird27]

I wrote a whole paper on how novel concepts could be used to improve body armor. Sheer stiffling gel (SSG)was one of the topics i covered as well as resin based self repairing technology. One group of researchers found that carbon black could be suspended in the SSG you could sense and measure impacts based on the stiffling effect changed measured resistance acros the panel. This could be used as a monitoring device for combat medics to automatically alert them if someone receives a shot or impact that causes sever bodily harm

[@MalcolmCooks]

so you wrote a paper but dont know the difference between sever and severe 🤔

[@huleyn135]

@@MalcolmCooks perhaps english aint their first tongue or maybe its a basic typo

[@timetuner]

With the way you described the mechanics of it I don't think it could work as its own layer in a vest. If the shear thickening is a result of the particles jamming into each other, would a sheet of saturated fabric even have enough particles in front of a bullet to achieve the full effect? Even if it does, wouldn't the effectiveness max out around a thin sheet of opal?

[@FractalSpiral1]

It might be doable if you had packets of shear thickening fluid as a replacement for armor plates. You'd still have to contend with gravity pulling more fluid to the bottom of each packet though.

[@egoalter1276]

There's also the issue of it being heavier than three bathroom tiles epoxied together, which likely provide simar amounts of resistance

[@chromacobble]

Such a wonder to see both of my favourite content creators doing a collab, well done 🔥🔥

[@ashernelson7654]

The crossover I never knew I needed holy crap

[@Mothernatura]

Great to see you silk reactor project is still active !

[@mothman1654]

I had read about STF armor for the first time mere days before the Hacksmith video came out, and when he said you were involved I knew I'd be in for a treat as soon as your video dropped. Thanks for the awesome content!

[@ericd_br]

I was involved in similar testing years ago. It never resulted in being able to use less Kevlar but did show the potential to decrease back face deformation. The energy from a stopped bullet will still cause a lot of internal damage and leave you pretty messed up but if you can spread that force out over a wider area you can reduce the injuries quite a bit.

[@Moonstone-Redux]

3:16 "Nanoparticles, son! They harden in response to physical trauma!" Didn't know Metal Gear Rising is so true to real life.

[@pyrothefirst]

been thinking along the same lines, well done. i also have tested tank armour for the military and defeated the samples i was sent. I was asked to try civilian explosives first, which didn't go so well, but when i got tricky, i punched right through, with only 5-10 grams. Needless to say, the company making the armour, redesigned it.

[@evanbarnes9984]

So stoked you're back to making videos!

[@nh5701]

"Nanoparticles, son! They harden in response to physical trauma."

[@martycampbell383]

I'd love to see how different movement affects the pattern. Would it work faster if you ran it in a centrifuge?

[@Kolljak]

One of the designs we came up with for civilian body armor used with this was to take recycled soccer balls and fill the Hex's with plastic bags sealed with the Ballistics liquid and slide them in vests/car doors/hollow building doors, ect to make them bulletproof or bullet resistant. This is the purple dynamic fluid we had in the lab.

[@TheMNWolf]

I am so happy to see oobleck explained. I always said it was not a solution, it was a mixture but no one wanted to believe me.

[@tramsgar]

I had the exact same idea a few years back! Surprisingly, sitting on my ass didn't materialize a prototype that apparently never would've worked anyway. Thanks for helping out!

[@petevenuti7355]

What non Newtonian fluid is typically used in these applications? What else is suitable? What do you think about using a PV (iron on glue) or silicone (polysiloxane) matrix? Isn't the long foldable molecules of starch what makes it so ooblikly? Maybe a combo of immiscible polymers in a soup as substitute would work?

[@devanharripersad5730]

Experimenting with this as a child . Who thought this would be made. Awesome to see an idea I had come to life . Thanks 🙏

[@icefox13]

finally, a nice video about non-newtonian fluids!

[@Lizlodude]

I love how you just casually mention you're working on microwaveable tank armor, that sums up the channel so well XD

[@DummerOfSendaristas]

Basically this liquid explained in more simple terms: "Nanomachines son, they harden in response to physical trauma..."

[@OYME13]

So basically, we're talking about the precursor to the shields from Dune

[@ivoryowl]

That formal suit with the protection in it looks like something Bruce Wayne would wear.

[@tomaszkarwik6357]

Thank you for (at least this) update on the Silk project. I do not think you mentioned it since two years ago

[@heavy_j]

Congrats on 1 mil bud!

[@trolly4233]

this was a pretty cool collab

[@ogsmoke4x725]

I use to work with silica for a ceramic core company. You could probably ad a wax to the silica mix to thicken it a little more while maintaining consistency. Also adding more durability.

[@Reverend_Salem]

also fun fact about your sponsor: Bismuth is radioactive, and it's halflife is more than a billion times the age of the universe.

[@StormBurnX]

It is a good year when Thought Emporium posts a video! Looking forward to your next video in a year or two :P

[@petergerdes1094]

Would there be any advantage to combining a magneticlly active sheer thickening fluid with some kind of pizeoelectic substance so the impact can activate the magnetic properties of the fluid?

[@ke9tv]

English - Latin/Greek Shear thickening - dilatant/rheopectic. Shear thinning - pseudoplastic/thixotropic. Thanks for not insisting on the Latin or Greek! Example of thixotropism - "Shake and shake the ketchup bottle. First none'll come, and then a lot'll."

[@Embassy_of_Jupiter]

"Why is this cheese opalescent" "waaaait a minute"

[@Yamototamto]

This channel is so much fun! Guys how about you clone yourself four times and then split for for additional projects so we can get 4 times the amount of cool chemistry videos?!

[@nemonomen3340]

I wonder if graphene nano particles would work well suspended in a fluid. I’m also now wondering what properties of the fluid might improve ballistic armor. It seems it would need to be able to hold the particles stably without dissolving them and be easily expelled under pressure. I want to learn more about it now!

[@October-TE]

I had the same idea, pretty cool to see someone make it in real life!

[@FoxSock]

i love your voice so much, its been months since i last watched one of your videos and i still remembered it perfectly

[@DerSolinski]

...and your channel will explode now. Congrats 👍

[@GeoffryGifari]

hmmm... maybe with thicker layer of shear-thickening fluid the force could be spread out more?

[@omikrondraconis5708]

Queue writing prompt: Sci-Fi short story about the Opal Warriors, a band of idealistic mercenaries who refuse to use any weapons or be hurt by them and who strive to bring peace to the galaxy by out-nerding the bad guys 😎

[@oliverevans363]

I read a paper where there were adding additives (ceramics) to the STF at low percentage at around 20% to 45% and it increased the protection level of it

[@mongke1000]

Cue the Dune body shields, but everyone looks like the Michelin man.

[@ikagura]

I'm fine with it.

[@ScrimmyBingus42]

Making armor out of shear thickening fluid is essentially the real world equivalent of the personal shields from dune.

[@Corn-Pop.]

turns out that bullets are harmless when not shot at you

[@stoianandreimircea1509]

You are the perfect team to dismis a thought I had some time ago related to this topic. What if you have metalic material that can with the help of circuits that predoct where the bulet will come from will excite and push the liquid metal towards the bulet and reduce the speed near zero. Can this be done?

[@sSoKoSs]

Finally after that Hacksmith video I knew this was coming but couldn't wait!

[@page0809]

Amazing work!

[@armstrongskyview2810]

Will there be a part 2 to this soon

[@aliasd5423]

This channel is nile red with a hint of mad scientist and I love it!

[@samanthaqiu3416]

if you know your way around the bad neighbourhoods of the citadel, some krogan merchants will sell you SOTA non-newtonian armor, but they might not have your size

[@Volvary]

Congrats on the 1M subs, Justin!

[@unclep8501]

3:36 i LOVED that!

[@uwu1337]

nanomachines son

[@RustyDust101]

Now I want to see this in a sandwiched brigandine made of dragon scale bullet resistant armor, overlapping 1 to 5 scales each layer. Yepp, hell of a lot heavier, probably, but the impact area could be huge, thus very manageable when hit by multiple projectiles.

[@oddjobbob8742]

Shear thickening is the sort of armor field used in Dune.

[@lovemacom3448]

Good to see that you're growing

[@embracethesuck1041]

This reminds me a lot of applications that d3o is currently being used for including motorcycle armor (padding) and trauma pads under body armor (to dissipate the force and lessen, well, trauma from a successfully stopped bullet).

[@freehat2722]

*Not a sub machine gun! Not sure why people keep saying it as it will not make it true. It is obviously semiautomatic. 1 trigger pull for one shot. The chemistry is interesting and I thank you for that.

[@NeoTheatre]

A _huge_ kudos for the Rorschach reference 😁👍

[@JohnSmith-of2gu]

You're working on a spinning machine for spider silk? Oh boy I hope you make a vid on that once it's done!

[@fluxbe2737]

Nice collabs!

[@Mis73rRand0m]

I'd be looking into classifying the variance in particle sizes produced during synthesis, and exploring methods to selectively grow specific denominations to avoid advanced filtration techniques.

[@Mis73rRand0m]

Didn't finish my thought; the intention being to find an optimal mix of particle sizes to maximize compaction.

[@GeoffryGifari]

does the fluid matrix/solvent (?) (water, in the starch example) affect the shear thickening?

[@MrPeepa]

shouldve used the nanomachines meme when you said nanoparticles at 3:16!

[@MrPazzerz]

Filter the cornstarch to get the best particles. Then compress it with several tons of force like what is done with ceramics plates. The particles will be already in close proximity when the force of a bullet hits it. You may need a binder, which will be a small percentage of the main material.

[@marblemarble7113]

IMO: a better way to utilize this technology would be to take some of the kevlar that the hacksmith shot (the stuff that would stop the bullet on the first layer) and then sandwich somekind of high strength bag full of STF between a couple layers of that kevlar and the rest of the vest. The STF effect works best when there is a larger quantity of the STF (like in the hammer test) and the effect wont work very well if the STF is punctured so i think this would be a good solution to those problems.

[@justinkeys523]

I am making sure not to consume cornstarch as I don’t want to get plugged up 😂😂😂

[@16SKB]

Ooo, Microwave ruby tank armor! Can't wait