Latest Invention: Tough, Flexible T-Shirt that Could Replace Body Armor

If you like this invention you can vote for it hereScientists from University of South Carolina developed a t-shirt tough enough to deflect bullets. They combined carbon in the cotton with one of the hardest materials on Earth, boron, thus considerably increasing the material's toughness.

Their latest invention represents a lightweight t-shirt armored with boron carbide, material which is also used to cover military tanks.

Dr. Xiaodong Li, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University and co-author of a paper on the topic in Advanced Materials said that this latest invention marks a significant step forward in the development of more lightweight, fuel-efficient and ultra-tough materials.

The new type of t-shirt features nanowires that show high level of elasticity while boasting the toughness of boron carbide. "We should be able to fabricate much tougher body armors using this new technique. It could even be used to produce lightweight, fuel-efficient cars and aircrafts," mentioned Li. More information about this latest invention is available here.