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US makes strongest-ever armor material with 100 trillion bonds/cm²
(interestingengineering.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Correct. 🙂 Reminds me of when I wanted new tires & I was complaining about how some tires were rated for a criminally short life. I wondered which ones lasted the longest.
The mechanic then remarked that sure, they can make tires that last a hell of a long time & never puncture. But the ride would be so terrible because the tires would be tough, stiff, would work your suspension harder, and it would cost a fortune to boot. It's not worth it. There are multiple material, usage considerations when making a product. Really makes you appreciate the experts in their various fields.
Not to mention, really hard tires would have very poor grip. The rubber needs to be a bit softer to squish around all of the little imperfections in the road, technically increasing the contact area and providing a little lateral bracing (probably not the right term so I hope I'm making sense). This is why a lot of performance tires have shorter lifespans then other tire types, because in addition to a different tread pattern, they also often use a softer, "stickier" rubber, which wears out faster.