Bulletproof nurses

    Dec. 11, 2003
    A material strong enough to stop bullets could eventually protect military nurses. A futuristic exhibit at The Fabric Museum and Workshop in Philadelphia features ballistic materials made by Honeywell Performance Fibers.
    This futuristic "Post-Apocalyptic Nurse" uniform uses lightweight, high-strength materials from Honeywell Advanced Materials and Composites. Photo is courtesy of artists Mark Dion and J. Morgan Puett in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia.

    SpectraFlex and Gold Flex soft body-armor materials go into the display's Post-Apocalyptic Nurse uniform. The high-strength materials are in the uniform's harness, a yellow backpacklike carryall wrapping around the shoulder and behind to cover a nurse's back. Besides shielding nurses from attack, the harness is used to transport heavy, bulky, dangerous loads.

    Ballistic materials made with Spectra fiber also are going into bullet-resistant vests for law-enforcement officers in the U.S. and for about 100,000 troops in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq.

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