A newly invented metal foam is changing the tides of protection technology. It can literally turn armor-piercing bullets to dust upon impact. Furthermore, the new material is lightweight, resistant to flame and heat as well as block X-ray, gamma ray and neutron radiation.

The metal form is made from composite metal foams (CMFs) and its unique properties allow it to stop speeding projectiles. It is so sturdy that it even stopped a 7.62 x 63 millimeter M2 armor-piercing bullet. Watch the video below for the demonstration of the metal foam armor.

"We could stop the bullet at a total thickness of less than an inch, while the indentation on the back was less than 8 millimeters," said Afsaneh Rabiei via North Carolina State News. "To put that in context, the NIJ standard allows up to 44 millimeters indentation in the back of an armor."

According to Discovery News, the armor is only an inch thick and is made with Kevlar, a ceramic strike face and CMFs in the middle layer. The metal foam armor has great potential for bulletproofing body and vehicle armor, construction of air and spacecraft and even for handling radioactive and nuclear materials.

Tech Times reports that another form of metal foam is being developed at Cornell University. The material is created from Field's metal, a soft alloy and silicone foam that can be used in biological environments because it does not contain lead and is, therefore, more environment-friendly. This type of metal foam can shift from one shape to another. Cornell University's analysis on the shape-shifting metal foam was published in the journal Advanced Materials.

What do you think of the newest trend in protection technology? Tell us your thoughts about metal foam technology in the comment section below.

Topics North Carolina