tl;dr the glass has three layers: thick glass, a thin sheet of vinyl, and a thick shock-absorbing layer of polycarbonate.
In bullet-resistant mode, the bullet first enters the glass, the glass slows down the bullet and spreads the impact around the thin vinyl sheet. The vinyl sheet also helps prevent the glass from shattering. And then the layer of polycarbonate slows down and resists the force of the bullet after it's already been spread out to a large area.
In bullet-penetration mode, the bullet first enters the polycarbonate. The polycarbonate has no way to resist the force of the bullet when it's concentrated into the size of a bullet, so the bullet penetrates. The bullet penetrates the thin vinyl, and then penetrates the glass. The glass still resists and spreads out the impact of the bullet to some extent, but there's no vinyl to keep the glass together, and there's no polycarbonate to slow down the impact after it's been spread out.
[–] TheKnowledgeHammer 1 point 1 point 2 points (+2|-1) ago
Incredible video.
tl;dr the glass has three layers: thick glass, a thin sheet of vinyl, and a thick shock-absorbing layer of polycarbonate.
In bullet-resistant mode, the bullet first enters the glass, the glass slows down the bullet and spreads the impact around the thin vinyl sheet. The vinyl sheet also helps prevent the glass from shattering. And then the layer of polycarbonate slows down and resists the force of the bullet after it's already been spread out to a large area.
In bullet-penetration mode, the bullet first enters the polycarbonate. The polycarbonate has no way to resist the force of the bullet when it's concentrated into the size of a bullet, so the bullet penetrates. The bullet penetrates the thin vinyl, and then penetrates the glass. The glass still resists and spreads out the impact of the bullet to some extent, but there's no vinyl to keep the glass together, and there's no polycarbonate to slow down the impact after it's been spread out.
Fascinating piece of technology.
[–] Tommstein 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago
You might wanna watch the video again. And pay attention this time.
[–] TheKnowledgeHammer ago
The fuck are you talking about?