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Material inspired by Polar Bear fur could revolutionize cozy clothing, but it won’t be in stores anytime soon
Chinese researchers have knitted a sweater from a new type of fiber mimicking Polar Bear fur that could revolutionize cold-climate clothing.
Scientists from around the world are constantly engineering new ways for us to keep warm on the coldest of winter nights. This week, a team of Chinese scientists knitted a sweater that uses a new type of fiber that is said to be as warm as a down jacket at just one-fifth of its thickness.
Chinese researchers develop new insulating fiber that mimics Polar Bear fur
A team of scientists from Chinas Zheijiang University has unveiled a special sweater this winter season. However, this is no ordinary jumper, its inspired by the incredibly insulating fur of a Polar Bear and is reportedly as warm to wear as a down jacket – at just one-fifth of the thickness.
Co-author of the study Hao Bai explained how a fiber from Polar Bear fur is made from a highly porous core surrounded by a dense shell, giving them outstanding thermal insulation from the freezing temperatures of the Arctic.
They then took this naturally occurring structure and attempted to replicate it using an artificial textile consisting of an aero-gel as the core and a rubberized exterior acting as the outer shell. They then knitted an entire sweater from the fiber to test its insulating properties.
According to the paper, the sweater was found to have a lower surface temperature than a traditional down jacket when worn by a volunteer in 20 �C conditions indicating that it had retained more internal heat out of the two clothing items.
Incredibly, the team also claimed that the new fiber retained its thermo-insulating properties even after being stretched, washed and dyed multiple times over; suggesting that clothes made from the fiber could be worn frequently without breaking down.
Despite its high internal porosity over 90%, our fiber is stretchable up to 1000% strain, which is greatly improved compared with that of traditional aerogel fibers (~2% strain). In addition to its washability and dyeability, our fiber is mechanically robust, retaining its stable thermal insulation property after 10,000 stretching cycles (100% strain).
The researchers hope that one day, this special fiber could revolutionize the clothing landscape, especially in cold climate conditions: citing sportswear, military uniforms, and even spacesuits as possible avenues for application.
Some scientists remain unconvinced of the fibers inspiration
Whilst news of the developed fiber and the knitted sweater is fascinating, there are some scientists who remain unconvinced of both its inspiration and practical application.
Christopher Hurren, an associate professor in Fibre Science and Technology at Deakin University, told New Scientist Its a lovely notion, but is it really mimicking polar bear fur?
Probably not, says Hurren, explaining that the major thermal insulation benefit of Polar Bear fur doesnt come from its internal structure, but from the transparency of its fibers.
Thats right, Polar bears dont actually have white fur as may appear. As the Polar Bears International website defines, Each hair shaft is pigment-free and transparent with a hollow core that scatters and reflects visible light.
So, whats the next step for this research?
According to Shu-Hong Yu, a materials scientist at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, whilst this research represents a step towards creating exciting Polar bear fur clothing, its a long way from appearing in your local department store.
Currently, the process of creating such a fiber is considered to be too slow and energy-intensive to be scaled up for mass production in mainstream clothing outlets.
Thankfully, We are planning to improve its scalability , said co-author Hao Bai.
So, whilst it may be still some years before you see such high-tech fibers in products on store shelves, Polar Bear-inspired clothing appears to be on its way.
