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How Does Bulletproof Glass Work (Inquiring Minds Need to Know)?

July 23, 2019  |  Bullet Resistant Glass, bulletproof glass, Bulletproof Windows, Glass, safety glass
Laminated Glass
Bulletproof Glass

Have you ever wondered how glass can be “bulletproof”?  You generally hear about this glass in incidents where the President or some other high official is involved…in their limousines, aircrafts, military vehicles, etc.  Although bullet-resistant glass looks like regular glass, it is constructed to withstand the impact of bullets.  How is this done?  Through a process called lamination.  Bullet-resistant glass is constructed layering a piece of polycarbonate between two pieces of regular glass.  The polycarbonate absorbs the impact of the bullet, stopping it from entering into the inside piece of glass.  The ability of the glass to “resist” the bullet is based on the thickness of the glass. 

There is also a one-way bullet-resistant glass available.  This makes it possible to be protected from a bullet penetrating the glass from the outside, while still giving the individual on the inside the ability to shoot back.  This is made possible by laminating a brittle sheet of material with a flexible material.  The brittle piece would be constructed on the outside of the “unit”, so upon impact it would shatter around the point of impact and absorb some of the energy from the bullet.   The flexible material on the inside would absorb the remaining energy of the bullet, stopping the bullet from penetrating the interior glass.  In reverse, the flexible interior material would pass through the glass because the bullet’s force is concentrated in a small area, which causes the material to flex.  This then causes the outside brittle material to break outwards, allowing the bullet to pierce the flexible material and strike its target.

 

Now you know.  Call Frank’s Glass for all your glass needs!