Forging High-Tech Armor From Shock-Dissipating Fractal Cubes
Additively manufactured fractal structures with closely spaced voids dissipate shockwaves five times better than solid cubes. Tiny, 3D printed cubes of plastic, with intricate fractal…
Weapons
How Hackers Could Shut Down Satellites – Or Turn Them Into Weapons
In January, SpaceX became the operator of the world’s largest active satellite constellation. As of the end of January, the company had 242 satellites orbiting…
Second Skin Protects Against Chemical Weapons, Biological Warfare Agents
Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of chemical weapons in the Syria conflict have provided a stark reminder of the plethora…
Nerve Agent Antidote Under Development to Protect Soldiers and Public
Southwest Research Institute has received funding from the Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC) administered by Advanced Technology International to develop a nerve agent antidote for…
New Protection for US Energy Grid and Nuclear Weapons Systems
To deter attempts to disable U.S. electrical utilities and to defend U.S. nuclear weapon systems from evolving technological threats, Sandia National Laboratories has begun two…
Global Famine Predicted in Even a Limited India-Pakistan Nuclear War Due to Soot and Firestorms
Soot from firestorms would reduce crop production for years. The concept of nuclear winter — a years-long planetary freeze brought on by airborne soot generated…
100,000 Convicted Felons Across US Likely Still Own Guns, Despite Being Banned From Doing So
No nationwide program to recover these banned weapons; only state to do so is California. Around 100,000 convicted felons across the US still likely own…
New Materials and Manufacturing Methods Offer Improved Helmet Padding for Future Soldiers
Army researchers and industry partners recently published a study showing how they developed new materials and manufacturing methods to create higher performing helmet padding that…
“Shocking” Results When WWI Helmets Were Compared to Modern Military Designs
WWI helmets protect against shock waves just as well as modern design. French Adrian helmet suggests simple geometry may save brains from overhead blasts. Biomedical…
New Neutron Detector Can Fit in Your Pocket – Critical for Catching Smuggled Nuclear Materials
Researchers demonstrate first stable semiconductor neutron detector. Homeland Security might soon have a new tool to add to its arsenal. Researchers at Northwestern University and…
U.S. Army’s Top 10 Science and Technology Advances of 2019 [Video]
This year has had its share of science and technology advances from Army researchers. The U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory, the Army’s corporate research…
Innovative New Scale Armor Design Inspired by Chiton Mollusk
The motivations for using biology as inspiration to engineering vary based on the project, but for Ling Li, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the…
World’s Deadliest Inventor: Mikhail Kalashnikov, Father of AK-47
What is the deadliest weapon of the 20th century? Perhaps you think first of the atomic bomb, estimated to have killed as many as 200,000…
New System Uses Smartphone Video to Accurately Locate Shooters
New analytical tool could aid human rights, public safety workers. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a system that can accurately locate a shooter…
Projectile Weapons Gave Modern Humans a Competitive Advantage Over Neanderthals
A team of Japanese and Italian researchers, including from Tohoku University, have evidenced mechanically delivered projectile weapons in Europe dating to 45,000-40,000 years – more…
New High-Tech Method for Dismantling a Nuclear Warhead
MIT team successfully tests a new method for verification of weapons reduction. How do weapons inspectors verify that a nuclear bomb has been dismantled? An…
A New Tool To Identify Nuclear Weapons Without Divulging Secret Information
The Zero Knowledge Warhead Verification Program aims to identify nuclear weapons while protecting secret information. “Energy is incredibly fundamental to life,” MIT graduate student Ruaridh…
Satellites Could Be Used to Detect Nuclear Tests
Underground nuclear tests can be detected in the skies and as a result, global satellite networks could become a powerful tool in order to detect…