Ballistic armor has long been a subject of discussion and debate among weapon researchers, armorers, and the general public. Today, there are many different types of ballistic armor, all designed to protect a certain level of damage. Some types are stronger than others and some are more specialized. There are certain kinds of ballistic armor that can be dangerous and even deadly if it is damaged, and these are usually classified as high-tension ballistic plates. Ballistic plates are designed to withstand some of the most severe impacts possible and so the amount of energy that they can absorb depends on the thickness of the plates.
Ballistic plates are made of either the heaviest or lightest plates possible and each plate is connected to the next one with plates that have steel bands around them. The strength of the steel band determines how much stress a plate can withstand before it snaps or weakens. When a steel band breaks, it will often shatter into small, easily-disturbed pieces. It takes a lot of force to break a large, bulky steel plate, and when a plate starts to separate, the impact that it sustains forces more than one of the parts apart.
Plates can also suffer minor damage when they come into contact with other parts of the armor or other materials. This damage can be just as damaging as the pieces themselves because it adds to the fracturing of the armor. If a plate is bent or deformed, the plates that surround it can also be damaged, causing the entire structure to break down. Sometimes the stress caused by blunt force is enough to cause a plate to fail and to be rendered useless. This may not sound like much of a problem, but when a plate that weighs a ton or more breaks, it can become very dangerous.