well it is just i have been following the gulf War. They talked about the DU armor on the M1 tanks and how it stops most projectiles. So i was just wondering would diamond make better armor than DU since diamond is the hardest material out there.
Re: diamond as armor
Jul 24, 2003
3 Replies
You need to re-read what you saw: DU is used to penetrate armor, not as armor.
it clearly stated the m1 had Depleted Uranium as armor. it also stated
4 inches of DU armor was equivalent to 18 inches of naval steel
Armor for what application? It would make an excellent addition to laminate armors like Chobham, if it could be made cheaply enough. I suspect its performance is superior to the alumina currently used in such applications. Buried in a laminate armor between layers of whatever low density polymer filler is used, diamond's flammability wouldn't be much of an issue.
It might also make a nice hard plate for body armor, something to front kevlar, spectra, etc. Cubic boron nitride and silicon carbide are already popular in this role; depending on the exact behavior of diamond in ballistic situations, it might make a good replacement for them.
Again, this all assumes you could make a lot of diamond quickly and cheaply.
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