Berita Hari Ini: Kevlar’s original job wasn’t armor


	March 31, 2026

Original photo by Composite_Carbonman/ Shutterstock

Kevlar originally had a different purpose.

Few synthetic polymers have saved as many lives as poly-para-phenylene terephthalamide, better known as Kevlar. These super-resilient, nylon-like threads are five times stronger than steel, lighter than fiberglass, incredibly heat-resistant, and fantastically flexible. While the material is found in a variety of items, its greatest impact is arguably in bulletproof vests and body armor. But Kevlar's incredible, lifesaving superpower is only a happy byproduct of its original purpose.

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		Numbers Don't Lie

Branches of chemistry (organic, inorganic, analytical, physical, and biochemistry)

Kevlar vests sold at the time of Stephanie Kwolek's death in 2014

1 million

Year the National Institute of Justice released a report saying Kevlar was effective at stopping bullets

1976

Percentage oil prices jumped in the U.S. during the 1973 energy crisis

350%

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The top speed of the world's fastest cars is mostly limited by their tires.

Rubber tires can go only so fast. The centrifugal force of speeds approaching 300 mph creates an incredible amount of pressure and heat that normal tires just can't handle. Because of this, supercars such as the $3.8 million Bugatti Chiron can't reach the top speeds its 1,500-horsepower engine might technically achieve (around the 310 mph mark). This physical limitation is why land speed record-breaking vehicles — which are more like wheeled rockets than cars — get rid of rubber entirely and ride on aluminum alloy wheels instead. Undeterred, the tire company Michelin developed all-new tires for the Chiron, reinforcing the rubber with carbon fiber and testing them with the same equipment NASA used to test the wheels for space shuttles. In 2019, these reinforced tires helped the Chiron reach 304.77 mph — a new speed record for any car with street-legal tires (rocket cars not included).

Today's edition of Interesting Facts was written by Darren Orf and edited by Bess Lovejoy.