How did NASA help make a better football helmet?
Lexan, developed by a German scientist in 1953, is a gooey substance which hardens into a near unbreakable sheet. In the 1970s, NASA discovered that a sheet of Lexan 1.25” thick could stop a bullet. Lexan was used in the visor, or “bubble”, of astronaut helmets for years. It is now commonly used in the exterior shell of football helmets, because it is light, but extremely robust.
While the outer shell of football helmets are meant to sustain sizeable amounts of force without breaking, the liners are made to protect the wearer from brain damage. Many football helmet liners are made from temper foam, commonly known as memory foam. Temper foam was originally used in the seats of space shuttles to make astronauts comfortable during take-off. Temper foam absorbs close to 90% of an impact, and is also used in a lot of common household items such as mattresses, pillows, and the insoles of some shoes.
“The move to use NASA technology dates back to the late 1960s. NASA Ames Research Center in California developed and tested a foam product that would be commercially marketed as Temper Foam, and was used for the protective padding of airplane seats. Temper Foam is polyurethane plastic foam with several special qualities. It takes the shape of impressed objects, but springs back to its original shape, even if it’s been compressed by over 90 percent. It conforms to body shape, evenly distributing weight over the entire contact area for comfort. It also absorbs up to 90 percent of impact shocks and becomes firmer after being subjected to sudden impact. In testing, a 3-inch thick pad could absorb all the energy from a 10-foot fall by an adult.” - NASA Goes To The Superbowl