The British have force fields, Yanks are behind as usual.

[Swoop]

ok, ok, argumentative title cos I'm in a mood this morning, just read the article, it's cool.

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Boffins at Britain's Ministry of Defence have invented an electric 'force field' designed to protect armoured vehicles against anti-tank grenades.

The 'electrical armour' is designed to vaporise copper projectiles released from grenades on impact before they are able to penetrate a tank's inner hull, the Daily Telegraph reports. The idea is to make tanks less vulnerable to anti-tank launchers, such the RPG-7, which is commonly and cheaply available in the world's trouble spots, such as Afghanistan.

When armaments like RPG-7 grenades hit a tank, a "shaped-charge" warhead blasts a jet of hot copper into a target at around 1,000mph - capable of slicing through a foot of conventional solid steel armour.

The new electric armour is based on a highly charged capacitor connected to two separate metal plates on the tank's exterior. The outer (armour-plated) plate is earthed while the insulated inner plate is live.

When the crew of a tank feel they are under danger, they switch on current to the inner plate, using the tank's internal power supply.

If the tank is unfortunate enough to be hit by a grenade, the jet of copper produced will penetrate both the outer plate and the insulation of the inner plate completing a circuit, which results in the discharge of the capacitor and the vaporisation of most of the copper.

The Telegraph reports that despite the high charge generated by the system, the "electrical load on the battery is no more than that caused by starting the engine on a cold morning".

It sounds bizarre, but the paper reports that in a recent demonstration an armoured personnel carrier protected by the system withstood repeated attacks by rocket grenades that would normally have destroyed it many times over.

Boffins hope to develop the armour further and fit it in Britain's next generation of tanks and armoured personnel carrier. The Pentagon is also reportedly showing a keen interest in work on the technology.
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[CyranoAH]

Uhhh sounds very interesting, but do you know just how much energy you need to make a powerful enough discharge that lasts just long enough?

So much for polarized hull platings in "Enterprise"

I sincerely hope this works, but I'm afraid we don't have the energy source yet. It could be a breakthrough in space travel, since with a powerful "force field", astronauts would be protected from some of the harmful radiation to which they would be exposed in a long trip through space (as in a mission to Mars).

We'll see...

Daniel

[Swoop]

Quote from the above article that you obviously havnt read:

"The Telegraph reports that despite the high charge generated by the system, the "electrical load on the battery is no more than that caused by starting the engine on a cold morning".

[Saintaw]

This is good news. Those tin cans (m113s, scimitars...) should have a better chance. untill they find a way around it , that is

[-dead-]

Cyrano - we don't have the energy source yet, eh?
So all those fuses in my house don't work after all! It's all just a conspiracy by the electrical supliers to increase their profits! I knew it!

[CyranoAH]

I didn't express myself clearly. When talking about the energy source I was talking about force fields to protect astronauts from the harmful radiation continuously bombarding spaceships.

Now that is more difficult to shield yourself against

As for the shielding of tanks -yes, I read the article-, I understand it's the copper that actually makes the system work.

It also means that if they substitute copper with something less conductive, the circuit wouldn't close, thus rendering the device ineffective.

I mean, Rocket grenade manufacturers are not going to see their product become obsolete, right?

Daniel, aka Cyrano

[Swoop]

Yup thats right.  But it does mean than the RPG-7 Mk II (or whatever) will be substantially more expensive and less accessable by terrorists, etc.....for a while.

[miko2d]

Originally posted by Swoop
"The Telegraph reports that despite the high charge generated by the system, the "electrical load on the battery is no more than that caused by starting the engine on a cold morning".

 Electrical load on the battery caused by starting a diesel tank engine on a cold morning is quite a lot of electricity...

 miko

[rogwar]

There is a key word here called "Capacitor" gents. Charge up a capacitor about the size of your fist and then discharge it using both hands. That is a good way to learn the power of a capacitor. Also, anyone who has ever worked with linear amplifiers should know about discharging a capacitor before attempting to work on such.

[Elfenwolf]

Swoop, Congratulations to Great Britian for developing such a kewl armour system!! Now all you guys need to do is develop a friggin TANK to put it on and you'll be all set. What's the British armoured vehicle now- a Mini Cooper with a moonroof for the shooter to peek through?

Big deal. We already have the same thing only we call it a "bug zapper." Same principle as your armor, right? Hell, hblair sits out on his front porch and watches his zapper for hours. If the British want to REALLY invent something they should invent dental care for their masses.

[rogwar]

Originally posted by Elfenwolf
Big deal. We already have the same thing only we call it a "bug zapper." Same principle as your armor, right? Hell, hblair sits out on his front porch and watches his zapper for hours. If the British want to REALLY invent something they should invent dental care for their masses.

Elfie you're a genius to explain the concept using such a simple analogy.

Dental care....lol...

I work with a transplant from the UK here in Texas. He has been here 2 years and has had 4 root canals and other misc work. He likes the dental system here. I wonder what the deal is in the UK?

[loser]

Originally posted by rogwar
There is a key word here called "Capacitor" gents. Charge up a capacitor about the size of your fist and then discharge it using both hands. That is a good way to learn the power of a capacitor. Also, anyone who has ever worked with linear amplifiers should know about discharging a capacitor before attempting to work on such.

i heard of a guy who once got his finger blown off by a huge cap for his car stereo.  He was wearing a COPPER ring on his finger and while he was messing around with the cap, the current arced through his ring, blew his finger off, and cauterized the wound in a fraction of a fraction of a second.

Keep in mind that this was on a 12 volt (or more correctly 14.4) car system.  

Just think of how much energy flows out of the ignition coil in a car (also a form of capicitor).  On a 12 volt system with say an 80 amp alternator, that coil can pump out around 30,000 volts of electricity many times per second. (true at low wattage, but still.. if you touch that coil wire you are dead, tossed across the room, or shat your pants hard.)

This system sounds like it could work.

[gatso]

Now all you guys need to do is develop a friggin TANK to put it on and you'll be all set

If the British want to REALLY invent something they should invent dental care for their masses.

And dental care here is free for most on low income, students, children... Where the hell did this start anyway,  Austin Powers or something?

Gatso

BTW whats the most significant thing you bloody useless Yanks have ever come up with? Just wondering.

[Replicant]

Challenger II MBT.... can't remember name of armour but stronger than existing Chobham armour (which was already impenetrable to current MBT shells).

[Kieran]

Polio and smallpox vaccines, penicillin, heart transplants, dynamite, trains, automobiles, airplanes, submarines...