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Science / AAAS
(A and B) Scanning electron micrographs of lateral and cross-sectional views, respectively, of laminated Si3N4 and carbon nanotube sheets that were biscrolled into yarn. The brighter regions correspond to the carbon nanotubes. (C) Scanning electron micrograph of an undensified biscrolled yarn containing TiO2 powder. (D and E) Scanning electron micrographs showing that biscrolled carbon nanotube yarns containing 95 weight percent LiFePO4 (for high performance batteries) and 88% weight percent SiO2 powder, respectively, are sufficiently strong to be knotted. (F) Optical micrograph showing that a biscrolled yarn containing 85 weight percent TiO2 can be sewn into Kevlar textile.
High-tech clothes that function as batteries and fuel cells, some of them even self-cleaning, may all be possible — thanks to a new type of yarn developed by nanotechnologists.
The high-tech yarn is spun out of carbon nanotubes infused with powdered particles that are traditionally tricky to work with. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas developed a way to deposit the particles on a web of carbon nanotubes. and then twist them up into yarn.
The powder accounts for up to 95 percent of the mass of the so-called bioscrolled yarns. which can then be knitted, knotted, braided and sewn into other fiber and textile products, including clothing. Laboratory tests show it can even be washed without losing many of the powdered particles, thus retaining their functionality.
The functionality of the yarn depends on the powder sprayed onto the nanotubes. A material found in lithium ion battery electrodes, for example, was used to make a yarn that was "shown to have the battery performance, flexibility and mechanical robustness needed for incorporation in energy-storing and energy-generating clothing," UT-Dallas said in a news release. A paper describing the technology is reported in last week's issue of the journal Science.
More on high-tech duds:
- 'Smart' clothing responds to wearer's emotions
- New fitness apparel will sport sensors and microchips
- 'Smart' textiles emerge from nanotech labs
- Nanotubes show their strength in numbers
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by hitting the "like" button on the Cosmic Log Facebook page or following msnbc.com's science editor, Alan Boyle, on Twitter (@b0yle).
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knitting/crocheting has been bumped up a level.
Phenomenal. And many said it couldn't be done.
Many questions emerge: What is the tensile strength to weight ratio of these composite fibers? How does it compare to, say, spider web for instance? What types of super strong ribbon or cable could be made of this stuff? If heavy duty applications are possible how might this technology affect engineering of things like suspension bridges? And finally, and this admittedly gets a little out on the sci-fi fringe, could Arthur C. Clarke's imagined "space elevator" actually be possible?
This kind of technology will most certainly provide us with wondrous new products. If piezoelectric and super capacitive materials can be woven into articles of clothing you could run you phone by just moving about, and light your own way as you walk down a dark street. Perhaps even store up enough energy to shock some one who seeks to harm you as if you were an electric eel.
They can make nano-underwear to hold my nano-penis.
john1618phi - No person who does not have the right to defend themselves is truly free. If such clothing, (that allowed self defense), ever does become practical and affordable, the Liberal, Statist Elite will try to ban it, just as they have banned stun guns and pepper spray in some parts of the country, California and New York, for instance. Us ordinary, unenlightened commoners MUST be kept dependent.
And then there are those who are so sedentary their self-winding watches run down ;-p
Ban the paranoid ranting.
As for everyone else, this is pretty awesome, I wonder what we'll see in twenty years?
Not paranoid ranting, "Just the facts, ma'm".