This amazing two-atom-thick material becomes so hard under pressure it can stop bullets.

To be effective at stopping bullets, modern body armour is often manufactured to be thick and heavy. However, this may soon be a thing of the past according to researchers from City University New York, who have discovered an ultra-thin material which hardens on impact to be as tough as diamonds.

The material is known as diamene is made from two stacked layers of graphene on a base of silicon carbide. Graphene on its own consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern. It is the world's strongest material and is also a good conductor or heat and electricity, making it useful in numerous applications.