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Phoning it in: smart accessories for fitness
May 1st, 2013
The Apple Store offers dozens of sports coaching and fitness applications for the company’s iPhone, iPod and iPad technologies, including 321 Run, iSmoothrun and Runtastic. Using those apps while on the move can be challenging—unless athletes add a Runalyzer blue from Runware, Saint-Denis, France, to their accessory kit. Lightweight, ultra-thin, flexible and comfortable, Runalyzer blue, […]
Spacer fabrics for sound control
May 1st, 2013
In Karl Mayer’s acoustic-damping, warp-knitted spacer textiles a monofilament yarn is used in the spacer layer and the outer surfaces are made from a textured yarn for effective sound absorption. The upper and lower sides, with microscopic roughness, reflect impinging sound waves; the space between the two surfaces of the textile provides a dissipation zone […]
Devious seed inspires color-shifting fibers
May 1st, 2013
The bright blue seed of the South American “bastard hogberry” has little nutritional value, but its bright color mimics that of a more nutritious seed, deceiving birds into eating the “ringer.” and spreading its seeds far and wide. Researchers at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., and the University of Exeter, U.K., used the bastard hogberry’s strategy […]
Hard hats from a sweet source
May 1st, 2013
Safety equipment manufacturer MSA, Pittsburgh, Pa., is the largest producer of industrial hard hats in North America and worldwide, and its V-Gard® hard hat with its distinctive V-shaped crown has helped prevent head injuries among workers who use the product. Hard hats are made with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), generally derived from petroleum. In a move […]
Creating the future of textiles: Flexible components
May 1st, 2013
New technique could enable the creation of a variety of fiber-based electronic and photonic devices. What do saltwater taffy and smart textiles have in common? Until recently, probably nothing. But scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a way to “pull” fibers—in a manufacturing process akin to making taffy—that makes it possible […]
Cotton fabric collects water from fog
May 1st, 2013
Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China, turned a cotton fabric into water-collecting material by applying a coating of PNIPAAm, a polymer, to the cotton fabric. At lower temperatures, this cotton has a sponge-like structure at microscopic level. Up to a temperature of 34°C it is highly hydrophilic, […]
Dutch researchers design highways that heal themselves
May 1st, 2013
Researchers at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in The Netherlands are paving the way to longer-lived roads with a special type of asphalt containing long steel fibers. Zoab, a highly porous asphalt concrete used commonly in The Netherlands, is used because water can drain through openings in the pavement. The problem is that […]
Portable shields, top-level protection
May 1st, 2013
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams confront weapons of increasing deadliness in conflicts with terror suspects, mass shooters, criminals or rioters well versed in guns and gear. SWAT teams use equipment designed for high-risk situations, including urban close-quarters combat, hostage crises and barricaded suspects. The challenge for manufacturers of protective gear has been to achieve […]
Teijin develops radiation-shielding aramid fabric
April 25th, 2013
Teijin Limited has developed a new aramid fiber fabric that protects users against X-ray and gamma ray radiation. Starting in May, the company will provide samples to selected customers for applications such as protective clothing and sheet materials used in areas with high radiation levels. The new Technora fabric is produced by blending radiation-shielding tungsten […]
TenCate Protective Fabrics wins orders from Netherlands fire brigades
April 2nd, 2013
The IJsselland and northeast Gelderland fire brigades in the Netherlands have chosen the superior protection of inherently heat and flame-resistant materials from TenCate Protective Fabrics. The orders, totaling 1,850 uniforms, are from two European contracts. TenCate has developed new protective fabrics that provide permanent protection as well as a high degree of wearing comfort and […]