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Which would make better personal armor: Plastic or titanium/steel?

Started by Sacred.Stone, May 21, 2007, 10:59:16 PM

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Sacred.Stone

May 21, 2007, 10:59:16 PM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Ra-Tiel
I was really thinking about it. Some plastic can be really really hard. For instance, the British have designed a tank made almost entirely of plastic. It is so light it can be dropped by parachute fully loaded and crewed. The plastic is very resistant to ballistics and small arms fire, and when a plate is damaged it can be easily repaired and replaced.

So plastic: Light, strong, and easily repaired.

Would it make better armor than steel though?

And what are those shields riot control teams use made out of?

Ra-Tiel

#1
May 22, 2007, 12:34:42 AM
Well, In Blue Planet (an old out-of-print SciFi rpg), composite plastics have almost completely replaces metall in construction and warfare. They use industrial grade plastic as a concrete replacement, for bullets, for vehicles, for personal armor, etc.

The setting also has some nifty toys, like a special spray that liquifies certain kinds of plasic, or plastic sheets that become hard as stone if you place a small electric current on them (nice for insta-tents and such things).

Xathan

#2
May 22, 2007, 12:51:55 AM
I'd say, plastic with a gel inside - many gels can really provide stopping power by diffusing the kinetic energy of an attack, while plastics are extremely durable and also (important for armor) extremely light weight.
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Sacred.Stone

#3
May 22, 2007, 02:40:35 PM
Wow that's a neat idea for tents. I have a type of tent in my setting called a "snap tent" which basically has an internal frame that snaps together... sort of like a hiking tent only sans the annoying poles, the fragile cheap zipper, and the waterproof skin that really isn't waterproof lol.

That "plastic hardened by an electric current" thing would be a neat idea to incorperate into the design.

BTW in a world sans oil where could they get plastic from? Maybe a plant discovered on a planet?

beejazz

#4
May 22, 2007, 03:03:03 PM
Synthetic substances don't necessarily have to rely on petroleum in a fictional world.
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#5
May 22, 2007, 06:40:20 PM
I'm no expert on high impact plastics, or the structural strength of materials, so I can't really say much for this thread.

That said, depending on how close to the real world you go, I don't see how plastics are any more replacable then metals. Both can be properly casted with just about the same amount of effort.
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Sacred.Stone

#6
May 22, 2007, 07:07:22 PM
"Synthetic substances don't necessarily have to rely on petroleum in a fictional world."

Yes I know but what else could they rely on?

Elven Doritos

#7
May 22, 2007, 07:10:48 PM
FORMULA X, an odd assortment of chemicals that can be produced through the ultrarefined PROCESS Y.

Wherein X is any fancy-sounding petrol substitute (antherium, whatever) and Y is a made-up process of production (hyperfission). It depends on how the tech of your society functions and what resources are available, but there's no reason to believe that some unthinkably more potent fuel could be discovered.
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Tangential

#8
May 22, 2007, 08:20:01 PM
Indeed.

*contemplates plastic made from solar energy*
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Sacred.Stone

#9
May 22, 2007, 10:30:22 PM
Hmmm.

Could plastic, theoretically, be produced from organic oils, say, sesame sead oil or sperm whale oil?

Bill Volk

#10
May 22, 2007, 10:41:38 PM
Hard plastic sounds cool. Keep in mind, though, there might be circumstances when you want to use denser armor, to give something more inertia and prevent it from being knocked around. Also consider the following: when a particular armor breaks, will it flex, or will it crack and splinter? I suppose the answer will be different depending on the kind of plastic we're talking about. It might be a bad idea to use hard plastic for personal armor if there's a risk of little plastic fragments flying everywhere.

Sacred.Stone

#11
May 22, 2007, 10:45:29 PM
What do riot squads use for their personal armor?

SDragon

#12
May 22, 2007, 11:05:41 PM
Quote from: Sacred.StoneWhat do riot squads use for their personal armor?

Kevlar, I believe.
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Battle-Scarred Veterans Go Hiking
Champions Worldwide

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Tangential

#13
May 22, 2007, 11:28:08 PM
It depends on the crowd controllers and varies greatly. In "advanced" countries in the last fifteen-twenty years thermoplastics such as  polyethylene and polycarbonate have boomed. Ultra high molecular weight polyolefins of any sort would work reasonably well.

Kevlar carries between IIA-IIIA protection and depending on the threat (such as bombs, etc) up to III can be used by riot squads. Anything constituting a higher level threat will be responded to by the army more than likely, with their "superarmours". (like the awesomely named Dragonskin)

The problem of plastic armour:
QuoteThere have been cases of riotsquad helmets being worn to protect against objects blown by storm wind, for example in England in the 18 January 2007 gale.
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Elflord274

#14
May 22, 2007, 11:30:37 PM
titanium and steal all the way plastic to flimsy
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