Textile – the new form of intelligence

Future offers us so many technological surprises. The contemporary man is not impressed by modern achievements and he just perceives them as consecutive steps towards improvement. Textile industry develops towards the so called “smart materials”. They “breath”, absorb moisture and already they “remember”.

In 2004 scientists at the Institute of Textile and Clothing in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have invented the world’s first cellulose-made shape memory fabric. The project was established with an $8 million grant and then with strong support from the Chinese Government, another $14 million were granted. Soon after the emergence of this fabric the team has achieved international reputation for its contribution in this area.

Shape memory fabrics can really recover their original shapes. This distinguishes shape memory garments from other wrinkle-free garments by achieving crease retention, flat appearance, and bagging recovery when washed in hot water. These qualities turn the textile achievement into perfect ally of the fashion industry.

Shape memory fabrics are made of a special kind of polymer, which as a result of external stimuli such as temperature, for example, can be easily re-shaped into different sizes. After they are created by scientists they are subject of synthesis, characterization and modeling.

Photographs:www.wists.com, www.scivee.tv

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