I’m no warmonger, but I can think of no finer way to waste Friday afternoon than spending 10 minutes of the company’s time watching bullets striking various objects at one million frames per second. The footage is just totally unbelievable.

To reach far beyond typical high speed photography (keep in mind, we’re talking over 41,000 times the speed of traditional film), the footage was captured using dual Shimadzu HPV-1 cameras shooting at a scant 312×260 resolution. Regardless, the black and white tonal detail is still more than good enough to astound.

For a special treat, load the clip around 7:30 in to watch what happens when a hollow point bullet strikes what looks like cement. The bullet’s clinical deconstruction…I don’t even know what to say, other than I have an inkling why those bad boys are illegal no idea why those bad boys aren’t illegal (sorry, I get all my bullet knowledge from ’80s movies). [Kurzzeit]

Forbes’s intrepid testers used the Toughbook to crush soda cans, used the screen as a dartboard, ran over it with a Volkswagen, gave it to a tiger as a chew toy, had an elephant stomp on it multiple times, and then the to top it all off, shot it with a .22 pistol. And the damage?

The only things that managed to do any lasting damage were the elephant and the gun; the elephant put two cracks in the case (purely cosmetic, however), and the gun did actually pierce the screen. But! The damn thing was still usable even after being shot! It never once ceased to boot and Forbes claims they were able to log into Windows even with a hole in the screen.

We ourselves have absolutely no use for the Toughbook-30, but we’re tempted to get one in case we ever get that pet elephant we’ve always wanted. [Forbes]

The Army began using tungsten in its weapons to replace depleted uranium, which is also allegedly (but notoriously) nasty stuff. Tungsten is used in missiles carried by drones, the Phalanx anti-missile gatling gun, anti-tank rounds and a lot more. What’s crazy is that even as the Army stops using tungsten in training ammo, it’s still looking at tungsten as a depleted uranium in other stuff.

On the other hand, it’s not like bullets and other weapons, though they might be more advanced technological terrors, aren’t designed to horrible things to human beings in the first place. [Danger Room, Image: longhorndave/Flickr]

While it seems the Sonim XP1 can actually survive almost anything from drops to hammer hits, it looks like a 9mm bullet is just too much for it. [Gadget Review]

Apparently some weaves are tighter than others. (Apparently, some relationships are tighter than others too.) After 20-year-old Briana Bonds told her boyfriend Juan she didn’t love him anymore, the a-hole shot up the back of her mid-’90s Pontiac. The rear windshield was shattered, but she was still alive and without major injury, possibly thanks to that weave.

The ladies down at the beauty parlor are not totally convinced, though. Scientifically speaking, the weft (where the weave meets the hair) is where the fibers are interlocked most tightly. But whether or not that makes it any where close to the equivalent of a Kevlar mesh is beyond current beauty-parlor technology to ascertain.

Hair stylist Kim Walton told Kansas City NBC affiliate KSHB, “I never heard of weaves saving anybody’s life.” Still, if it turned out to be what saved Bonds, she added, “Thank God for weave.”

Bonds herself told the news channel that it was more about God than the weave: “I think God was in my passenger seat.” As of Thursday, Bonds had a headache; no word on what happened to that dick Juan. [WOAI via Geekologie]

This “Bionic Body Armor” would continuously scan the area for incoming projectiles. If one is detected, the system would deliver a shock to the muscles causing a swift, reflexive action away from the bullet.

The present invention relates generally to the protection of an individual against a projectile propelled from a firearm. More particularly, the present invention relates to a body armour system and its method of use that is capable of detecting a projectile propelled from a firearm, computing the trajectory of the projectile, and moving the individual out of the path of the projectile to avoid being hit.

Damn, that might actually work. I mean, think about how fast you move your hand away from a hot stove. Would that kind of movement actually be fast enough to dodge a bullet? [Patent via The Firearm Blog]

You see, that iPod is running the program BulletFlight, available now from the App Store for $US12. BulletFlight is essentially a ballistics calculator that turns environmental factors like windspeed and distance into simple “click” adjustments on the rifle. Five different rifle profiles have been preloaded into the software to factor in specifics like muzzle velocity and bullet weight.

But even more importantly, having a gun app on an iPod finally gives the sniper a excuse to blast AC/DC while clearing an area of hostiles—as if another one were needed. [BulletFlight and BulletFlight App via Engadget]

He discovered that the extreme heat that occurs when firing a gun causes salt from a fingerprint to slightly corrode the casing. By zapping it with electricity he can detect these prints years after the shots were fired. In fact, Bond was recently able to identify prints on four shells from a 1999 crime scene in Georgia and his method is now in high demand. The hope is that hundreds if not thousands of cold cases could be re-opened and solved thanks to this technology. [BBC via Wired]

DARPA had previously thrown money into laser-guided bullets, but the stuff Lockheed Martin’s working on–called Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance (Exacto)—would be able to travel accurately regardless of the surrounding environment.

Though public details are (obviously) scarce, the rifle may include “fin-stabilised projectiles, spin-stabilised projectiles, internal and/or external aero-actuation control methods, projectile guidance technologies, tamper proofing, small stable power supplies, and advanced sighting, optical resolution and clarity technologies.” Is it just me or does this reek of noob h4xxing? [Wired]

“I stopped and I lifted up my sweatshirt and I took out the cell phone to check it to see if it was damaged and this bullet falls out,” Richard told the local CBS affiliate WWL. He said the shot—which was strong enough to tear a hole in his sweatshirt—felt like a punch to the chest.

Investigators said that the bullet could have come from as far away as a quarter of a mile, and that people shoot guns in that area all the time.

“We have no reason to believe that there was any type of criminal intent,” Sheriff Jack Strain told WWL. “That this truly was just an incident where someone discharged his weapon, whether it was target practicing or hunting.” He did add though, “To have such an impact at such a vital location and to be saved by your cell phone, I’m sure has given [Richard] time for pause, and to be thankful.”

Well, Motorola, it seems this Thanksgiving at least one customer is going to thank you for saving its life—probably one more than Samsung, Nokia or even Apple can claim. [WWL-TV (check out the video) via AP, Thanks, David]