14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers at the Cornell University announce the development of a new type of cotton fiber, which has the ability to conduct electricity just as well as metal wires can. The thing about this innovation is that the textile fabrics remain light and soft to the touch, which means that they can be worn inside regular T-shirts and other pieces of clothing, the team behind the achievement says. Possible uses for the new technology involve creating smart clothes, that can monitor heart and breathing rates, and also charge mobile devices such as gaming consoles, cell phones and so on.
In addition, the experts say, additional technological advancements could allow for sweat analysis, so as to determine if the wearer is exhibiting any sign of diseases. It is believed that such a line of “multi-use garments” could also be used to cool people off actively, during very hot days. The material was developed in the lab of CU expert Juan Hinestroza, who is an assistant professor of fiber science and apparel design at the university. Clothing already featuring the new cotton threads will be featured in an exhibition on March 13, which will take place at the Cornell Barton Hall. This event is the annual Cornell Design League Fashion Show.
The basis of the modern cotton fibers is coating them with nanoparticles. Researchers at Cornell collaborated closely with Italian colleagues from the universities at Bologna and Cagliari for this job, and they managed to succeed where other research groups failed. The fact that the nanoparticles are conductive allows for electrical connections to be made inside the fabric by simply tying two of the threads together. The technology works so well that Abbey Liebman, one of Hinestroza's students, managed to design a dress featuring the cotton fibers, small photovoltaic cells, and a USB dock for charging cell phones and mp3 players. The dress will be featured at the exhibition.
“We can definitively have sections of a traditional cotton fabric becoming conductive, hence a great myriad of applications can be achieved. The technology developed by us and our collaborators allows cotton to remain flexible, light and comfortable while being electronically conductive. Previous technologies have achieved conductivity but the resulting fiber becomes rigid and heavy. Our new techniques make our yarns friendly to further processing such as weaving, sewing and knitting,” the team leader says. “Instead of conventional wires, we are using our conductive cotton to transmit the electricity – so our conductive yarns become part of the dress. Cotton used to be called the 'fabric of our lives' but based on these results, we can now call it 'The fabric of our lights',” says Liebman.