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For those who do not know what a cycloalkane is, it is a ring of carbon atoms (with hydrogen around the perimeter). Since it is a ring, it could theoretically be made into chainmail. Larger cycloalkanes such as cyclooctane (8 carbons in a ring) or cyclodecane (10 carbons in a ring) would have to be used
in the chainmail. If individual cycloalkanes would be too small for this, then catenanes could be used. This would be an example of mechanically-interlocked molecular architecture.
Mechanically-interlocked molecular architurectures
http://en.wikipedia...cular_architectures
[codell, Jul 03 2007]
Cycloalkanes
http://en.wikipedia...g/wiki/Cycloalkanes
[codell, Jul 03 2007]
Catenanes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenane
[codell, Jul 03 2007]
Nanotube Maille
Nanotube_20Maille
[xaviergisz, Jul 03 2007]
physics forums
http://physicsforum...Cbr%20/t-66407.html
nano chainmail [xaviergisz, Jul 03 2007]
Could you imagine having a chain mail vest made of a single molecule thick substance? It would be incredibly very flexible but incredibly strong as you would have to physically break covalent bonds.
http://www.iidb.org.....%3C/t-121276.html
April 6, 2005 [ldischler, Jul 05 2007]
High strength graphite
http://www.cevp.co....eneral_graphite.htm
[ldischler, Jul 05 2007]
Annotation:
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Would a membrane made of this material
still be bulletproof whilst only a few atoms
thick? |
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Attire made from this material would be a
gift for the secret agent man in your
family. |
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"The name's Bond. Noncovalent Bond." |
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I'd imagine that if it's only a few atoms thick, it wouldn't be very strong, but if it were maybe 300 atoms thick it could be stronger. |
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If the bonds between the atoms are stronger than those in the projectile, wouldn't it perform a cheese-grater action on the bullet? |
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//it wouldn't be very strong, but if it were
maybe 300 atoms thick it could be
stronger.// Ah, the power of the scientific
mind. |
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//perform a cheese-grater action on the bullet?// No, because cycloalkane rings are minute things, and would be very close together. |
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It might have usage as a filter - only ions of a certain size mould be able to freely pass, while larger ones would be caught in the gaps. If that worked, you might be able to use membranes of this stuff as a mechanical alternative to distillation - filtering molecules out of solution - assuming your solvent molecules were small enough to get through. |
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However, I'm not convinced the holes would be of a useful size (how distant are the atoms so arranged in this configuration anyway? - and how much of an atom provides resistance to force? - what sort of charge fields are going to exist between the bonds, and mightn't it exclude the formation of interlinked cycloalkanes? ) - or that it would be possible to mass produce this particular arrangement to order. |
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[codell] The ring may not allow a single atom of lead to pass through, but the weave between them would be big enough wouldn't it? |
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Will a thin material like you are proposing be able to spread the blow from a bullet to reduce damage? Because if it simply deforms it won't accomplish much other than to have the wearer punctured by a neatly wrapped bullet. |
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Projectile stopping has two components. Penetration resistance and energy dissipation. If I am trying poke you with a broomstick, a leather jacket will give you excellent penetration resistance, but you are still going to get all bruised up. You need something stiff behind it to spread the blow out, or padded to absorb it. |
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That's where I was heading with the idea that a bullet might turn into a cloud of lead dust. |
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So you would end up with an ounce of lead dust spray injected into your skin? I guess that would reduce instant lethality. First aid might involve a sharpened ice cream scoop though. |
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Many layers of this would be an excellent protection against ice picks, for which Kevlar vests don't work too well. |
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I'm not sure about this. Graphite is made up of sheets of carbon atoms in a continuous 'honeycomb' hexagonal structure, and yet that doesn't seem to make it very strong. Likewise, large crystals, which are also effectively single molecules, are not necessarily very strong either. |
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[hippo], comparing graphite to this misses the point. Carbon fibres are made of graphite-like structure, yet are incredibly strong (but too brittle for bullet proofing apps) |
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This could be at least as strong as Kevlar, which is just another hydrocarbon. I believe Kevlar is particularly strong because the individual chains have strong polar links with each other, making it hard for them to slip past each other. This proposal would make it impossible for the "chains" to slip past each other without breaking. |
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I would suggest that for the material to be also very stiff, thus helping to spread the load, the cycloalkanes should be as small as possible, so they can't "elongate" into ovals. The result might still be very brittle, though, depending on the choice of cycloalkane. |
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If everyone still holds out that carbon nanotubes can be mass-produced, why not this? |
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Nanotubes are a pretty simple in terms of their structure - you start off with a shape, and then elongate it by replicating the same structure over and over again at one end. |
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The topology of a lot of interlocked rings is a lot more difficult to achieve. Especially since all the only technique at your disposal is the rather blunt one of sloshing liquids about in flasks and test-tubes. |
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That's the tough part - maybe you could knobble some dna together that as it unwound and expressed itself, it might knit individual cycloalkane molecules together, but you'd have to then take the finished chain and position it in just the right place before getting the dna (rna?) to unfurl another one that passes through it, rinse and repeat - a hundred zillion billion times. It's no mean feat. |
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The same is true with Kevlar or Spectra--twenty or more layers are needed. Here, you'd need millions of layers. |
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I'm going to stick with avoiding getting shot at. |
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It's been working for me. |
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//I'm going to stick with avoiding getting
shot at.// I would like to nominate that
annotation for something. |
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This would be tricky, OK. You would need some sort of enzyme catalyst. |
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