A new futuristic fabric developed at the University of Maryland will automatically change according to the surrounding environment.
The temperature-adapting fabric is specially engineered from yarn coated with carbon nanotubes. This yarn will expand and contract based on the heat and humidity surrounding it.
For example, if the fabric is near a moister, warmer environment like a sweaty body, the fibers would expand allowing for more heat to pass through. In drier and cooler conditions the fabric contacts so less heat escapes.
“The human body is a perfect radiator. It gives off heat quickly,” Min Ouyang, a UMD physics professor and co-author of a new paper on the research in the journal Science, explained. “For all of history, the only way to regulate the radiator has been to take clothes off or put clothes on. But this fabric is a true bidirectional regulator.”
The researchers hope their work will lead to more comfort-adjusting clothing, CNET reports.
The new futuristic fabric joins the likes of other “smart” fashions like app-controlled, color-changing clothes.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
