Polythemus
Infantryman

Hi polythemus,

Seems that your my mentor now

About my armor-- have you ever heard of Shear Thickening Fluid (STF)? That might be a good place to start to understand my ambitions. Current technologies rely on hard and shatter-able materials like ceramic plates to help 1) Prevent penetration (w/ help of Kevlar, ballistic fabrics and whatnot) and 2) Manage the force (through spreading it over a large area and braking into pieces, effectively giving off energy with each shard). This seems to work fine, but the armor is uncomfortable to wear (rigid) and is compromised after the first impact. These are the primary design flaws that I aim to remedy. STF has a unique property that allows it to remain in a “liquid” suspension normally but it becomes solid when exposed to a shearing force or impact. If you’ve ever played with cornstarch and water, that is a basic form of this material (Military-grade STF would be made out of ultra-fine silica and ethylene glycol, for example, not cornstarch and water XD )
Yeah….

Yikes! Double major? You sir are an ambitious fellow XD Yes, I was going to go down the Mechanical Engineering road, but had somewhat of an epiphany when I realized that, while I like engineering, I'd be just as content hiring one. After the "Well crap. What do I now?" feeling, I found this new major and haven't been disappointed ^_^
The video you watched, was that a 405th member, or do you even remember? I am glad you found this site, and I wish you the best with your project(s)! It can be hard to find the time and money, can't it? But it must be worth it XD

Wow, long winded response XD What about you? Why did you come here initially?

No, not really. I love to see other peoples' progress though. I am currently studying in a major called Technological Entrepreneurship and Management (TEM) which is a really long name for business-startup administration with a focus on technology, science, math and engineering. In short, we're studying how to take an idea from just an idea to reality, which is really what this community is about, am I right? Every week another member is realizing their dream of having some piece of Halo armor, and they do it with their own two hands. I love that and love to be around such amazing people ^_^ As for me, one of my long term projects is (prepare to roll your eyes :P) next generation body armor (many years down the road and about a dozen separate marketable products in the meantime which will all come together), so I am also checking for input on the design and layout (i.e. comfort) of different full-body armors. If anyone would know what works, it'd be a 405th member!