kinda old story.. but just asking if this is reality yet?
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Boffins invent
grenade vaporising electric force field
By John Leyden
Published Monday 19th August 2002 10:29 GMT
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. ®
(source: The Register)
