Few things are comparable to sunbathing to warm up. Solar energy is directly or indirectly, the source of all the energy we use on Earth but, perhaps above all, it is a source of heat. Now a team of researchers has developed a fabric capable of taking advantage of solar energy in a different way but with a very conventional purpose: to warm up.
Up to 30º. It is an “intelligent fabric” capable of heating up to 30º Celsius. For this, it is only necessary to let this material exposed to sunlight for about 10 minutes. Its developers point out that the new invention could serve to create ideal clothes to resist very low temperatures.
Clothing, 2.0. Conventional clothes, as we can intuit, do not heat. At least not in the sense of emanating heat that our body absorbs. What he does is rather help us not lose heat that, naturally, emanates our body. It could be said that it keeps us hot instead of warming us.
In 2025 there are clothes that are able to warm us: gloves, coatsblankets and to accessories. However, these types of designs require energy sources such as batteries or plugs, which limits their “autonomy.”
Resistant and flexible. The new system allows to avoid the fattening and risks associated with this type of garments by heating ourselves with surprising efficacy. But in addition to this ability to warm us, the developers of this material highlights its durability and elasticity.
As they explain, the new material is able to stretch up to 500% and support 25 washing cycles without losing its heat property or its appearance.
Nanoparticles The “magic” behind this material “(is in nanoparticles that) are activated by sunlight, allowing the fabric to absorb heat and transform it into warmth,” Explain in a press release Yuning Li, one of the developers of the new material.
The new fiber, their creators point out, is created through a wet spinning process, combining polypamine and polyianylin nanoparticles. This facilitates the absorption of light and improves photothermal conversion.
The team responsible for ingenuity presented the new material With an article In the magazine Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials in which he offered some details about this.
Is it loaded? Another unique characteristic of this fabric is that it changes color depending on its state, that is, when it is “loaded” of energy acquires a different color. This is also due to the nanoparticles responsible for storing and releasing energy in the fabric.
A feature that is also useful as an indicator of the “load status” of the garment in question.
Of course, the question of when and how we can see this finding implemented in our locker room is one that remains to be answered.
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Image | University of Waterloo
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