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Date: 27 Oct 2007 10:45:05
From: Mike Kruger
Subject: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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A former college quarterback has invented a football helmet with a radical
new design.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/sports/football/27helmets.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th
'Rather than being lined with rows of traditional foam or urethane, Ferrara's
helmet features 18 black, thermoplastic shock absorbers filled with air
that - not unlike his squirt bottle - can accept a wide range of forces and
still moderate the sudden jarring of the head that causes concussion.
Moreover, laboratory tests have shown that the disks can withstand hundreds
of impacts without any notable degradation in performance, a longtime
drawback of helmets' traditional foam."
Disclaimer: I'm not trying to start a discussion on the merits of wearing a
helmet. I know the usage of football helmets (where you might get hit
several times in a couple of hours) is different than bicycle helmets (where
you are most likely to go years without the helmet getting any contact).
This is a newsgroup, though, and this sounded like news.
--
Mike Kruger
Give no quarter to the paradigm people.
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Date: 29 Oct 2007 12:54:48
From: almost_fast@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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On Oct 27, 11:44 am, frkry...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Oct 27, 12:25 pm, DougC <dcim...@norcom2000.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I try to avoid buying running shoes that have air pillows in them,
> > because it's been my experience (a couple times) that the air pillows
> > must be filled under /pressure/, and that pressure tends to leak out
> > relatively quickly--in my experience, in only about a month of use both
> > times. The shoes worked great when they were brand-new, but after they
> > had gone flat I was wondering why I paid $100 a pair for them.
>
> > Sorbothane (soft urethane) is pretty shock-absorbent, and basically
> > flat-proof. It /is/ a bit heavy however.
> > ~
>
> Regarding running shoe technology: Nike recently started marketing
> marketing the Free shoe (http://www.nike.com/nikefree/) to mimic, as
> much as possible, barefoot running.
>
> Supposedly, the rationale was twofold: first, it was observed that
> runners who ran barefoot at least part of the time, ran faster.
> Second, it was observed that Nike (and competitors) had worked for
> decades to design and build ever-more-protective footware, yet runners
> were getting foot and leg injuries at the same rate.
>
> IOW, all the fancy, advertised, "scientific" protection didn't work.
>
> Parallels are left as an exercise for the reader. ;-)
>
> - Frank Krygowski
Quote:
Government puts brake on MP's helmet compulsion campaign
10:45, Oct 23rd 2007 by Carlton Reid
Minister says helmet compulsion unlikely because it leads to decreased
cycle use
Peter Bone, the Tory MP for Wellingborough and Secretary of the All-
Party Road Traffic Group, wants all under 14 year olds to be forced to
wear helmets when cycling. In a 10 Minute Bill on October 16th he
argued his case and has subsequently raised the matter again in
Parliament.
However, Jim Fitzpatrick, a Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the
Department for Transport, said:
"We have no proposals to bring forward legislation on compulsory cycle
helmet wearing...A 2002 review commissioned by the DfT concluded that,
overall there is evidence that bicycle helmets can be effective at
reducing the incidence and severity of head, brain and upper facial
injuries... However, the report also concluded that, making cycle
helmet wearing compulsory may in some cases discourage some people
from cycling, leading to decreased bicycle use."
Fitzpatrick stressed that at the current levels of helmet use,
enforcement would be a problem. Teenage boys, in particular, are
eschewing helmets and forcing this group to wear helmets would make
many turn away from cycling. Such a result would be a net loss to the
health of the nation because the amount of lives saved by helmet
compulsion would be dwarfed by the loss of life caused by sedentary
lifestyles.
"Our regular surveys of helmet wearing rates show that cycle helmets
were worn by 28 per cent of all cyclists on major roads in built up
areas in 2004; this compares to 16 per cent in 1994." said
Fitzpatrick.
"The corresponding figures for child cyclists are 14 per cent in 2004
compared to 18 per cent in 1994. The wearing rate for teenage boys has
decreased from 16 per cent to 11 per cent. The 2006 helmet wearing
rate survey will be published later this year.
"While compulsion remains an option that we will review from time to
time, it has been our view that, at current helmet wearing rates,
making helmets compulsory would cause enforcement difficulties and
without greater public acceptance could have an effect on levels of
cycling."
Roger Geffen, CTC's Campaigns and Policy Manager, said:
"Peter Bone's wish to 'do his bit' for safer cycling is no doubt
sincere, but totally misguided. He has blinded himself to the mass of
data showing that helmet laws drastically reduce cycle use and that a
cull of cyclists only makes things worse for those who remain. With
new evidence just out showing that the obesity crisis is far worse
than we had previously realised, it is clear that Bone's proposals
would shorten thousands more lives than they could possibly hope to
save."
End quote.
>From http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/news/29186/Government-puts-brake-on-MPs-helmet-compulsion-campaign
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Date: 28 Oct 2007 06:58:03
From: Doc O'Leary
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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In article <k2JUi.2796$Nz7.1415@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com >,
"Mike Kruger" <MikeKr@mouse-potato.com > wrote:
> A former college quarterback has invented a football helmet with a radical
> new design.
Bah! Get back to me when someone kills two birds with one stone and
designs a helmet that will carry/use my spare tube as the shock absorber.
--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, 4ax.com, buzzardnews.com, googlegroups.com,
heapnode.com, localhost, ntli.net, teranews.com, vif.com, x-privat.org
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Date: 27 Oct 2007 19:12:24
From:
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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Mike Kruger writes:
> A former college quarterback has invented a football helmet with a
> radical new design.
http://tinyurl.com/2zxotw
# Rather than being lined with rows of traditional foam or urethane,
# Ferrara's helmet features 18 black, thermoplastic shock absorbers
# filled with air that - not unlike his squirt bottle - can accept a
# wide range of forces and still moderate the sudden jarring of the
# head that causes concussion. Moreover, laboratory tests have shown
# that the disks can withstand hundreds of impacts without any notable
# degradation in performance, a longtime drawback of helmets'
# traditional foam.
http://tinyurl.com/2opju5
I find the description lacking in that it doesn't explain that the air
cushions are not pressurized but rather full of air that compresses
under shock loads and is allowed to escape through a metered vent to
absorb even greater displacements. I also would like to see a
force/time graph comparing a conventional helmet with this design
showing both acceleration and displacement.
If it works as the six phases (step through them) shown on this web
site, it is a great improvement.
> Disclaimer: I'm not trying to start a discussion on the merits of
> wearing a helmet. I know the usage of football helmets (where you
> might get hit several times in a couple of hours) is different than
> bicycle helmets (where you are most likely to go years without the
> helmet getting any contact). This is a newsgroup, though, and this
> sounded like news.
I am also interested primarily in the technical aspects of the design.
Jobst Brandt
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Date: 28 Oct 2007 12:49:16
From: Zog The Undeniable
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org wrote:
> Mike Kruger writes:
>
>> A former college quarterback has invented a football helmet with a
>> radical new design.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2zxotw
>
> # Rather than being lined with rows of traditional foam or urethane,
> # Ferrara's helmet features 18 black, thermoplastic shock absorbers
> # filled with air that - not unlike his squirt bottle - can accept a
> # wide range of forces and still moderate the sudden jarring of the
> # head that causes concussion. Moreover, laboratory tests have shown
> # that the disks can withstand hundreds of impacts without any notable
> # degradation in performance, a longtime drawback of helmets'
> # traditional foam.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2opju5
>
> I find the description lacking in that it doesn't explain that the air
> cushions are not pressurized but rather full of air that compresses
> under shock loads and is allowed to escape through a metered vent to
> absorb even greater displacements. I also would like to see a
> force/time graph comparing a conventional helmet with this design
> showing both acceleration and displacement.
I think there should be some mileage in a deformable metal mesh (like
thick chicken wire) over a light skeleton, just to hold it in place.
That might get round the ventilation issue, although the chin strap
would still be the main source of discomfort for me.
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Date: 27 Oct 2007 16:44:02
From:
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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On Oct 27, 12:25 pm, DougC <dcim...@norcom2000.com > wrote:
>
> I try to avoid buying running shoes that have air pillows in them,
> because it's been my experience (a couple times) that the air pillows
> must be filled under /pressure/, and that pressure tends to leak out
> relatively quickly--in my experience, in only about a month of use both
> times. The shoes worked great when they were brand-new, but after they
> had gone flat I was wondering why I paid $100 a pair for them.
>
> Sorbothane (soft urethane) is pretty shock-absorbent, and basically
> flat-proof. It /is/ a bit heavy however.
> ~
Regarding running shoe technology: Nike recently started marketing
marketing the Free shoe (http://www.nike.com/nikefree/) to mimic, as
much as possible, barefoot running.
Supposedly, the rationale was twofold: first, it was observed that
runners who ran barefoot at least part of the time, ran faster.
Second, it was observed that Nike (and competitors) had worked for
decades to design and build ever-more-protective footware, yet runners
were getting foot and leg injuries at the same rate.
IOW, all the fancy, advertised, "scientific" protection didn't work.
Parallels are left as an exercise for the reader. ;-)
- Frank Krygowski
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Date: 28 Oct 2007 05:49:37
From: DougC
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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frkrygow@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Regarding running shoe technology: Nike recently started marketing
> marketing the Free shoe (http://www.nike.com/nikefree/) to mimic, as
> much as possible, barefoot running.
>
Great--so now they're going to go back to making flat-sole plain rubber
shoes, but still charge $100/pr for them.
> Supposedly, the rationale was twofold: first, it was observed that
> runners who ran barefoot at least part of the time, ran faster.
> Second, it was observed that Nike (and competitors) had worked for
> decades to design and build ever-more-protective footware, yet runners
> were getting foot and leg injuries at the same rate.
>
I suspect that running is just a cause of injuries within itself--even
racehorses suffer non-collision injuries doing it. I'd be willing to bet
that (as far as injuries sustained from running) about 60% is genetic,
30% is diet and the other 10% is actual training or lack of it. The more
we learn about genetics, we will find the less decisions we can claim
responsibility (or credit) for.
And ultra-marathoners having their toenails removed is just damned
creepy, there ain't no other way to say it.
~
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Date: 27 Oct 2007 11:25:51
From: DougC
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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Mike Kruger wrote:
> A former college quarterback has invented a football helmet with a radical
> new design.
> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/sports/football/27helmets.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th
>
> 'Rather than being lined with rows of traditional foam or urethane, Ferrara's
> helmet features 18 black, thermoplastic shock absorbers filled with air
> that - not unlike his squirt bottle - can accept a wide range of forces and
> still moderate the sudden jarring of the head that causes concussion.
> Moreover, laboratory tests have shown that the disks can withstand hundreds
> of impacts without any notable degradation in performance, a longtime
> drawback of helmets' traditional foam."
>
I try to avoid buying running shoes that have air pillows in them,
because it's been my experience (a couple times) that the air pillows
must be filled under /pressure/, and that pressure tends to leak out
relatively quickly--in my experience, in only about a month of use both
times. The shoes worked great when they were brand-new, but after they
had gone flat I was wondering why I paid $100 a pair for them.
Sorbothane (soft urethane) is pretty shock-absorbent, and basically
flat-proof. It /is/ a bit heavy however.
~
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Date: 27 Oct 2007 10:37:09
From: Skip
Subject: Re: Former Quarterback Invents New Helmet
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"DougC" <dcimper@norcom2000.com > wrote in message
news:5EJUi.51$CT6.24@newsfe06.lga...
> Mike Kruger wrote:
>
> I try to avoid buying running shoes that have air pillows in them, because
> it's been my experience (a couple times) that the air pillows must be
> filled under /pressure/, and that pressure tends to leak out relatively
> quickly--in my experience, in only about a month of use both times. The
> shoes worked great when they were brand-new, but after they had gone flat
> I was wondering why I paid $100 a pair for them.
I neither run nor play tennis, but isn't this the same reasons that tennis
balls go "dead" after a relatively short time of use -- and why they ship in
pressurized containers in the first place?
- Skip
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