The idea of protecting oneself against an enemy weapons almost dates back to the beginning of times.As the time progressed weapons became more and more advanced and hence protecting one self from them became more and more difficult.Plate armour was used for most of the time for protection against swords and spears however with the advent of bullets in the late 19th century old plate armour was simply not enough for stopping the speeding bullets.
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A Bullet Proof Vest
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Explanation.
The Bullet works by focusing all of its speed and its momentum into a single point which enables it to penetrate seemingly impenetrable surfaces like brick walls and yet remarkably you can stop one with fabric.This was first realized by Koreans in the late nineteenth century that in order to stop the bullet you have to increase the area the bullet works against.Bullets are intended for soft targets like animals or humans and work by deforming on impact.This increases the bullet area and allows it to do more damage,however this is also the weak zone for the bullet.Thus the Koreans worked out that if they use fabric or layers of cotton this will cause the bullet to deform just before it makes contact with flesh and blood causing the bullet to lose all of its energy and thus limiting the damage caused by the bullet.This is the principle which is used in all the modern bullet proof vest.
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How a Jacket stops a bullet
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It is believed that since 1973 over 3000 police lives have been saved by the bullet proof vests.For additional protection against high velocity bullets fired from sniper rifles metal or ceramics plates are used inside the vest.This also provides protection against shrapnels.
