[[I wonder if a similar techique can be used against bullets for personal armor or home defense.]
From Wired News -- <http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,54641,00.htmlhttp://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,54641,00.html>
U.S. Military Uses the Force By Noah Shachtman One of the most dangerous and pervasive threats facing American and British troops in combat zones is a primitive grenade launcher that only sets your typical terrorist back about $10. The Anglo-American defense against this no-tech threat: an electrical force field that's costing hundreds of millions of dollars to develop. Fitted on light armored vehicles such as personnel carriers, the force field uses a series of charged metal plates to dissipate the effects of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), a weapon found by the thousands from Mogadishu to Kabul to Baghdad. ... Get your free encrypted email at https://www.hushmail.com