A new material is invented by a team of researchers in Stanford University which can keep people cool in warm climates and decrease the need for air-conditioners that requires expensive energy costs.
The material is a plastic-based textile produced with low-cost that lets human body to discharge the warmth in a new way. As we know, sweating helps bodies to balance body heat and this new fabric does this too.
This new fabric allows people to perspire for evaporation like regular fabric does. But, there is new method by this plastic fabric. It emits the body head as infrared radiation and it passes through the fabric. Researches combined nanotechnology, photonics and chemistry to create the cooling fabric. They give polyethylene, a kind of plastic we also use as kitchen wrap, several characteristics required in a clothing material. When the new fabric is applied to clothing, the material could make the person feel almost 2 Celsius cooler.
(Image credit: L.A. Cicero)
All living organisms leave behind heat as infrared radiation. It is imperceptible and benevolent wavelength of light. For example, we get warmed under blankets because blankets don’t let the heat thrown off from our body in the form of infrared radiation. It is also noted that, people are seen in dark via night vision goggles thanks to the thermal radiation produced by our bodies.
Energy consumption related to cooling via air-conditioners constitute nearly %12 of total energy consumption in the United States, as reported by the researches. There are some attempts to use this fabric in buildings to cool the air inside which is called ‘smart temperature control. But, researchers point out the fact that focusing on the cooling of person rather than entire buildings are far more efficient.
Yi Cui, one of the researchers in the team and associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University, said that ‘If you can cool the person rather than the building where they work or live, that will save energy.’ On the other hand, we have to take into account that, the cost of the new material should be lowered to be used in mass production of clothes.
References :
- https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-09/su-sed082616.php
- http://news.stanford.edu/2016/09/01/plastic-clothing-material-cools-skin/
Extremely interesting! I also thought about the efficiency problem when cooling down whole rooms instead of smaller areas (ideally just your body) when it’s needed. I wonder how easy it is on the skin though. It’s the first step of our immune system after all and you would have to wear that thing on it all the time