Advertisement
Learning from polar bears, China’s aerogel fibre weaves a way for ultra-thin winter clothing
- Aerogel, the world’s lightest solid is usually very brittle, but scientists have overcome its fragility in a breakthrough
- By looking at the structure of polar bear hair, researchers have created an aerogel fibre which can be woven into clothing
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
7
Zhang Tongin Beijing
Chinese scientists have created a breakthrough fibre that can be woven into warm, lightweight clothing using aerogel, a thermal insulation material mainly used in the aerospace industry.
The development of the biomimetic fibres, notable for their performance and durability, could have various applications.
Aerogel, the world’s lightest solid material, has long been valued for its thermal insulation properties.
Traditional aerogel, made by replacing the liquid in a gel with air, is extraordinarily light, resembling a solid cloud of smoke. Its high porosity gives it exceptional heat resistance, but this also makes it brittle and challenging to process, limiting its use in civilian applications.
Until now, it has been used in engineering, particularly in the aerospace industry. The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation as well as Nasa have used aerogel in Mars rovers, which endure extreme temperatures ranging from thousands of degrees during the Martian landing to -130 degrees Celsius (-202 degrees Fahrenheit) on the planet’s surface.
But now, researchers at Zhejiang University have overcome aerogel’s fragility – after being inspired by the structure of polar bear hair.
Advertisement