In the 21st century, fabrics get "smart"
Photo shared by flickr user The Next Web.
Several companies are beginning to use nanotechnology to create new sorts of fabrics.
These fabrics can, for example, resist stains and wick moisture away from the body. It’s done by the manufacture of a very thin layer of chemicals that coat the textiles. William Ware is senior vice president of Nanotex, a California–based research and development company. He told Earth & Sky that Nanotex uses nanotechnology to coat fibers.
A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, or only a few atoms wide. Nanotex applies thin coatings to fabrics on the nanoscale. Waterproof and stain–resistant clothes have been on the market for years. What’s new here, Ware said, is that the nanoscale chemical coating is so thin that the fabric still feels natural.
Ware: We do it in such a way that it’s on a nanoscale, so the thickness of that layer is in nanometers, and when we do that, you don’t impact, you can’t see it, you can’t feel it, the natural properties of the fabric aren’t changed except for the fact that you’ve put that benefit there.
Nano fabrics are already being used by clothing and housewares manufacturers from JC Penney to Adidas to Eddie Bauer. On the horizon, clothing that will withstand bacteria and viruses.
Our thanks today to the National Science Foundation.
Our thanks to:
William Ware
Senior Vice President of Research and Development
Nanotex
How can I sign up my 4 sons as test subjects!
WOW! How awesome is that?!
In some ways awesome,but in other ways depressing. Here’s this fantastic new technology – we are learning to do things that we are still imagining – and we’re supposed to think it’s great that we can keep stains out of our clothes? When children are dying in Africa at a rate of how many per day? I guess there’s more $$$ to be made in stain-resistant fabrics than in feeding starving children. especially way across the ocean in Africa, out of our sight.
Well, “lesterette”, I’ll tell you what. When you sell YOUR computer and give up YOUR internet access and use the money for those children in Africa, THEN I’ll take you seriously.
I think it’s pretty tough to get out of one’s own culture. But that doesn’t mean you can’t care about people in other places.
You don’t have to sell your computer to wish that new technologies could be used to help people. Everyone makes such a big stink about how technology can do everything. I think we will continue to have a big split between rich and poor like always. I agree with lesterette. I am disappointed that nanotechnology just seems to be making smaller ipods and fancier phones. So what!
THIS SHOW SOUNDS LIKE A COMMERCIAL.
Isn’t anyone out there concerned about what these fabrics might do to us? I don’t want to wear more artificially altered clothing that might alter my chemistry. Remember polyester?
What does polyester do to you?
This segment looks like a commercial for that company and its customer. I think their statements have not been corroborated and only serve commercial interests.
Hi, yes, I agree. This segment has a commercial sound to it. The company that makes the fabrics did not pay us, though. And we did sent this script through some nano scientists who are unrelated to this company, to check its accuracy.
We could have done a better job on the wording. Next time…
Deborah