A revolutionary material inspired by polar bears that will allow you to create much warmer clothing.

Observe nature It’s no use just making us happy about it. We can also learn to improve our lives because animals, plants, and other components of ecosystems have a lot to teach us. From even whiter beetle-based white paint to drones inspired by the flight of bats, there are plenty of everyday inventions that have used nature as source of inspiration. Now the ideal material for manufacturing joins this interesting list. Thermo Clothingwhose role model was complex fur White bears.

It doesn’t cost less. These animals may be exposed even at -50ºC. On the warmest days in the Arctic, temperatures can be around 0°C. Therefore, their skin and hair are excellent heat insulators. Under their skin they have dense layer of fat, which prevents them from losing heat, especially when they swim. But also, their hair also protects them, especially on windy days. This fur has a porous core enclosed in a structure that acts as a dense shell. This provides excellent thermal insulation, but at the same time stability and flexibility.

There are many animals whose fur could inspire production of thermal clothing. However, the authors of a study just published in The science they chose polar bear because he has a coat that looks like airgel enhanced. Aerogels are great Thermal insulation, but they have some disadvantages when it comes to fabric production. These shortcomings can be solved by trying to imitate polar bear fur. For this reason, these scientists did not hesitate to do so, and the truth is that their first sweater was a complete success.

Problems of using airgel for making thermal clothing

Airgel It is a very porous material, which makes it an excellent thermal insulator. Since there is a high proportion of pores, thermal conduction is prevented and the permeability of gases such as water vapor is increased. On the other hand, low mechanical resistance is achieved.

The problem is that aerogels very brittle, not very elastic and difficult to process. In addition, machine washing gradually degrades its insulating properties. All this means that they cannot be woven and therefore cannot be used in the manufacture of thermal clothing.

What polar bears can teach us

The porosity of the inside of a polar bear’s fur gives it the ability to heat insulator. It’s actually very similar to aerogels. But it is this outer shell that is the key to solving the problem of making thermal clothing.

So these scientists created a strong polymer airgel fiber with lamellar pores. They then encapsulated it with layer of thin elastic rubber. The encapsulated airgel fiber showed excellent thermal insulation properties while being mechanically strong and ideal for weaving.

In fact, it can stretch voltage up to 1000%. Typically, regular airgel fibers stretch by about 2%, so the difference is enormous.

It was clear that thermal clothing could now be produced, but it remained to be seen whether the clothing actually insulated well against heat. So they started knit a sweater with her. It was a very beautiful garment, one-fifth the size. down thickness. However, the level of thermal insulation was exactly the same.

In addition, it could be washed and dyed, allowing it to be made into all types of thermally warm and comfortable clothing. Of course, using a polar bear as inspiration was a great idea.