Battle Armor That Won't Turn See-Through Post-Great Ape Transformation?!

――Last time, we arrived at the conclusion that polyurethane is our best option for a stretchy base material. However, we then encountered the major issue that, even though it has the required elasticity, if its wearer transformed into a Great Ape, the material would become so thin that it turns see-through...

The battle armor has to be suitably stretchy without turning see-through. To find out if wearing something like that would be possible, let's calculate the required thickness of the base battle armor. Using the average surface area of adult-sized clothing, let's think about what the surface area of a Great Ape's outfit would be. It's also worth mentioning we'll be assuming that, since the amount of material used in the battle armor would be fixed, the battle armor's weight will remain constant, even post-transformation. (The law of conservation of mass)

[Assumption] Average surface area of adult clothing: Pants 2㎡ + Top 2㎡ = Total 4㎡

Let's say that the Great Ape's height is four times greater than the Saiyan's original height. The surface area of the clothes will then increase 16-fold (4 x 4 = 16), which brings the total surface area to 64㎡. Further assuming that the area density (mass per unit of surface area) of the material in Great Ape-form is 0.5kg/㎡, we get 32kg of material. That would then also be the weight of the pre-transformation battle armor you'd have to wear. Although, I suppose thanks to his intense training, Vegeta wouldn't find that much of an issue!

Next let's think about the thickness. In order for the battle armor to not turn see-through post-Great Ape transformation, let's say the material would need to remain 1mm thick. That gives us a pre-transformation thickness of 16mm (assuming the density is unchanged). I think one could realistically wear such battle armor.

――It seems like it's impossible to separate elastic materials from this "see-through problem".

When you stretch a fiber, the individual yarn get thinner, so regular cloth will spread out like a net and turn see-through. To overcome this issue, you need to create fiber that doesn't get thinner when stretched, or potentially even fiber that gets thicker when stretched.

In the scientific field, fiber that gets thicker when stretched is referred to as "Auxetic Fiber" among other names. Rigorous research has been conducted into it for over 20 years now, and examples of such fibers have actually already been developed.

――"Auxetic Fiber" is such a cool name!

However, when you stretch the fiber, its volume increases, resulting in a density decrease and causing the fiber itself to begin letting light through. In other words, it too may end up becoming see-through. To combat that, it's possible to create a fiber structure with meshes just slightly larger than the wavelength of light (~0.5 microns), which results in the light being scattered and the material retaining its opacity.

――Things are getting a little bit complicated, but if we can keep it opaque, is our battle armor finally ready for action?

Well, we can make it opaque, but it still has the issue that when it gets wet, water will enter the meshes and turn it see-through.

――With Planet Namek having so much water, any fight there would have our battle armor turning see-through in the blink of an eye!