Terminator Coming Soon?

Imagine armies of military robots. Well, it has been pondered by many. Here is an interesting article that discusses robot warriors.

http://www.lexisnexis.com.proxyb.kclibrary.org/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T6036178687&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T6036178330&cisb=22_T6036178329&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=10962&docNo=2

Technology Enhances Weapon Accuracy

In every conflict, there are loss of innocent lives due to attacks on targets which were no longer where they were thought to be. Furthermore, there are inflated costs of using weapons inaccurately, not only in lives lost, but dollars. In recent years technology has been used to enhance the accuracy of the weapons our military uses. Here is an interesting article which demonstrates new "weaponology."

http://wstiac.alionscience.com/pdf/eNews_TIE_111708.pdf

Saving Lives: The Adaptation of Body Armor

Body armor for the American soldier has recieved many technological benefits throughout the years. The flak jacket was the standard issue of body armor during the Vietnam Conflict. The flak jacket was useful in protecting a soldier against shrapnel but not bullets. As weapons have evolved over the years, the need for better body armor has evolved with it. Kevlar became a popular ingredient to body armor in the 1980s. Kevlar is known to be heavy. A standard Kevlar vest is about ten pounds. Kevlar can also limit flexibility and does not provide protection to arms and legs. However, in recent years body armor has undergone some technological advances that, once put into production, should allow for more flexibility without sacrificing resistance.

According to an article I found on HowStuffWorks.com, How Liquid Body Armor Works, by Tracy V. Wilson, this new improvement comes in the form of liquid. This liquid is known as a shear-thickening fluid (STF). Put simply, this fluid reacts rigidly or hardens once it is struck. This reaction occurs in a matter of milliseconds. Otherwise, it remains in a fluid state until agitated. The liquid body armor is not meant to replace Kevlar. In fact, it is used in conjuction with Kevlar. The Kevlar pieces are dipped into this liquid. Since Kevlar is a fabric, the fibers in the Kevlar hold the liquid particle into place. Once the liquid body armor is struck, more protection is provided by the liquid saturated Kevlar. The cool part is that this armor returns to a liquid state after it has been struck.

Liquid body armor will provide and immediate value to the military. The liquid body armor decreases the amount of weight currently carried by today's soldiers. Liquid armor is also seen to provide protection to arms, and legs; something that today's armor does not provide. This armor will not only help decrease the loss of life, but should help decrease the amount of wounded soldiers in battle as well.