* Astronomy

Engineers at the University of Liverpool have tested a new form of concrete designed to reduce the impact of bomb blasts in public areas.
The fibre-reinforced concrete was found to absorb a thousand times more energy than plain concrete and could therefore be used for bomb-proof litter bins and protection barriers. Although not yet used in the UK the concrete has been utilised in Australia in the design of slender footbridges and in the roofs of government buildings to strengthen them against mortar attack.
University Engineers working in partnership with the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure explored the limits of the concrete's capability through a range of tests for dynamic bending and "shear" or indirect stress. These culminated in a series of high explosion blast tests at RAF Spadeadam, in Cumbria, each representing a typical IRA car bomb.
The Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) resisted the high explosion blast without any disintegration from the back of the panels causing shrapnel. This is important in the use of protection barriers designed to shield people from bomb blasts.

Source University of Liverpool