h a l f b a k e r yI think, therefore I am thinking.
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a way to protect bomb squad guys who have to physically pick up ordnance by using a pendulum locking device like the one that keeps your seatbelt from moving when you brake hard.
This would be a set of armored gloves that had wires running along the palm of the hand and down each finger. The wires
would be collected and attached to an assembly that housed a pendulum weight that would lock the wires and prevent them from moving when the wires moved too quickly. This would prevent the
EOD technician's fingers from becoming separated from his body if the bomb were to go off (in theory).
The thing to find out is exactly how an explosion removes a limb. Does it simply incinerate it? Is it torn off? I am not an expert, but I think this could work if the conditions were right.
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Nice try [pithhelmet] but perhaps one underestimates the speed and force of a bomb explosion - the pendulum locker wouldn't have time to engage before the digits were torn off. |
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As to how limbs are torn off - it depends. Usually it is simply a matter of the torso, which has greater mass and therefore greater inertia being 'left behind' as the lighter limbs/digits are accellerated away from the blast centre. A military style shell or bomb also involves a lot of very sharp and very fast moving shrapnel.... what a depressing subject. |
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There are also object-impact injuries associated with bomb blasts (bet you didn't know that!). When an explosion occurs, it leaves a partial vacuum behind, which then sucks crap back into it. Things like pieces of wood or metal that might be within range are brought back in - HARD - towards the center of the blast, striking things (like people) in the area. |
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CF is right: Explosive injuries to digits and extremities tend to be of the "some parts are light enough to be removed and others aren't" variety. This often includes heads (if you're lucky, the result is merely severe neck injuries), so keeping fingers attached to hands is not often something to really concentrate on. |
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There's your "Military Channel TV Movie" marathon hangover, in a nutshell. Do a little overtime at work and you'll be back to normal by June 1, I promise. |
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Meanwhile, the Idea suggests that a trebuchet-like device could be used to pick up bombs. A counterweight able to transmit the explosive force across a wide enough arc (Your bowel cavity isn't large enough space for a pendulum, sorry) could lift the containment vessel, swing it high enough to dissipate the blast, and deposit it into a trajectory to land safely at some distance. |
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hmmm. I guess this wouldn't protect very well from actual explosives, but maybe these gloves could see other applications in a mousetrap assembly factory to prevent workers fingers from being bent back by powerful springs... Or maybe as an attachment to soldier's boots so that parachute jumpers wouldn't twist ankles unpon landing... There's just gotta be a good application for this princliple, there's just gotta! |
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what may happen with this is that locking the fingers in place may force the whole arm to move up/out damaging the shoulder joint or severing the arm. I'd rather lose fingers than whole arms. |
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The key mantra of these guys is don't touch anything unless you really have to. |
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The gloves they wear are already unwieldy so some of the usefulness of ths addition will depend a lot on how much heavier the gloves are. |
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This actually sounds less like a safety device and more like a martial weapon; attach talons, move the locking device down the arm a bit (if you can make it small enough) and viola! It becomes extremely easy to shred opponents. On a SLIGHTLY more serious note, this may actually have better applications in tree or rock climbing. |
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