materialsscienceandengineering:
A football helmet design that listens to physics
A shock-absorbing football helmet system being developed at the University of Michigan could blunt some dangerous physics that today’s head protection ignores.
The engineering researchers making the system, called Mitigatium, were recently funded by a group that includes the National Football League. Their early prototype could lead to a lightweight and affordable helmet that effectively dissipates the energy from hit after hit on the field. Current helmets can’t do this, and that’s one of the reasons they aren’t very good at preventing brain injury.
“Today’s football helmets are designed to prevent skull fractures by reducing the peak force of an impact,” said Ellen Arruda, U-M professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering. “And they do a good job of that. But they don’t actually dissipate energy. They leave that to the brain.”
Sports like football present big challenges for the designers of protective head gear. To dissipate energy, a helmet typically has to deform, like the bike version cracks in a collision. And disposable helmets aren’t practical for football players.
We’re working really hard to help keep our modern day gladiators less in danger than they currently are… but is there a place for this brute-ish sport in modern, civilized society? I much prefer real football.
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