Synthetic Armor: Polymer Chemistry Behind Kevlar

Stopping a supersonic bullet usually requires heavy, rigid plates of steel or ceramic, which severely restrict the mobility of the wearer. The quest for lightweight, flexible body armor seemed physically impossible until a brilliant chemist named Stephanie Kwolek accidentally synthesized a cloudy, buttermilk-like fluid in a laboratory in 1965. That fluid was spun into Kevlar.The secret to this mir...