With Earth’s carbon emission increasing, the temperature on the planet is going upward. So it’s time we actually start dressing as per the hot temperatures, as per a team of scientists. Researchers from a variety of Chinese universities have developed a “metafabric” which is a textile woven material with nanoparticles that reflects sunlight away from the wearer, reports Wired.
This will help the wearer keep cool even in extremely hot environments. Besides, the researchers also hope their discovery will serve as an alternative to running air conditioning, which makes it worse for the environment.
Promising results during testing
The team tested the new metafabric on students by dressing them in a vest. Half of the vest was made of metafabric, while the other half was made of cotton. The students were left in the sun for an hour. After one hour, the half made of metafabric was 5 degrees cooler than the cotton side. The research was published in the journal Science.
Similar results were seen in longer tests – with skin-simulating hardware – giving hope for an alternative to air conditioners. “We are consuming huge amounts of power to cool our environment down,” Yaoguang Ma senior study author told Wired. “If we can have this kind of fabric made into clothes and sell those clothes to people, then we can save a lot of energy.”
Biggest challenge for metafabric clothing
The metafabric takes things a notch higher than existing SPF-protective clothing, notes Wired. The latter absorbs UV light to protect the skin but they do not manage heat. Metafabric, however, features Teflon that reflects UV light. It makes metafabric the first textile to use the same principles of heat protection as the paints outside space shuttles.
Wired also notes that the biggest challenge for metafabric-based clothing to become mainstream is convincing people to buy the necessary premium nanoparticle-infused clothing. But if it takes off, we might be able to curb AC, keeping climate change at bay.
Besides, researchers from the University of Rochester and Delft University of Technology have turned algae into photosynthetic materials. The team used 3D printers to make these materials into bio-garments.
