Elizabeth, what types of materials are these? The article says they're a new class, but does that mean metals, plastics, composites, nanocomposites, or something else?
I think William raised a good point. If these artillery shells are 5x more lethal, does that mean 5x the explosive force? Whatever the percentage or factor, it's greater explosive force which means they're likely to be more dangerous to store, as well as to deploy.
I would be concerned about the stability of the materials under various conditions. Unstable ordinance just sounds like it would be really unpleasant. The reason for this concern is that it seems to me that materials that are able to explode would be a bit more reactive, and thus less likely to be completely stable. But perhaps there is another answer.
Jhankwitz, you are right. Every year government is spending billion of USD for military R&D inorder to strengthen the national security and weapon systems. I think the same technology can also be use for common peoples benefit also. For example, the light weight materials using in space craft can be used for making artificial limbs etc.
500 percent more lethal just means 5x more lethal. Although that's a lot, considering the fragments will release both kinetic and chemical energy. The only non-military use I can imagine is for the other apps of explosives, such as mining work, although I don't see what chemical energy will bring to that effort. It would be interesting to know what chemicals are involved.
It's unfortunate that the results of this research will be limited to military applications. It would be nice if it could spill over into non-military applications.
Andrew Morris designed a circuit that could detect a stroke victim's groan and convert the sound into a signal so caregivers would know when help was needed.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
0 
