[kach22i]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I was watching "The Naked Time", one of the earliest episodes of the Original Star Trek series. Scotty has to cut through a bulk head to open a door to engineering. When he pulls the part out, the bulk head is 1/4" thick.

Wow, for a space craft, that is pretty darn thick. To hold in pressure versus vacuum, you only need about the same thickness as a soda can.

So maybe it is more structural, or to hold up against weapon fire, etc. Also, I'm SURE metal alloys (or what ever) will be much stronger than what were using today, for the same volume.

Your mind in set in the wrong century where thickness equates to weight.

Just this Saturday morning there was this science program on TV which featured a product which could be used on a future USS Enterprise, they were calling it "metal foam".

This Lightweight Metal Foam May Be The Future Of Bulletproof Armor
This Lightweight Metal Foam May Be The Future Of Bulletproof Armor | Huffington Post

A composite metal foam that stops armor-piercing bullets in their tracks could be the future of bulletproof body and vehicle armor, scientists say.

Researchers have invented a new type of metal that pulverizes bullets
http://qz.com/659130/researchers-have-invented-a-new-type-of-metal-that-pulverizes-bullets/

This is no ordinary metal. Created by melting aluminum around hollow metal spheres, composite metal foam is 70% lighter than sheet metal and can absorb 80 times more energy than steel. It is fireproof, radiation-resistant, and even bulletproof.

Researchers at North Carolina State University recently formulated and tested a metal foam so strong that it shatters armor-piercing bullets upon impact, according to a paper recently published in Composite Structures.

The metal foam can stop a bullet at a total thickness of less than an inch, according to lead researcher Afsaneh Rabiei. “Our material is the strongest one yet. There’s nothing like it on the market,” she says.

The potential applications of Rabiei’s new metal foam, which is stronger and can absorb high levels of energy, range from body armor to space shuttle siding.

“If tomorrow I can reach out to an investor in car companies and they want to put it behind the bumpers of cars, I’d be more than happy with that. Or, if someone wanted to put it in body armor or vehicle armor, I would sure be delighted to help that happen. Any of these applications can save lives,” she says.