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Anti-Frostidigitation: Heatpipe Gloves
Hettinga writes "A little casemod couture this morning, courtesy of Hongbin Ma, a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Missouri. He has developed heatpipe-driven gloves which pump therms from your toasty upper arm down to those aforementioned frosty digits. 'Each glove contains five small heat pipes, one for each finger, that are about 14 inches long and 1 mm x 2 mm in the cross section. Each pipe consists of three sections: an evaporating section, which is attached to the upper arm area; an adiabatic section, which is between the finger area and the arm area; and the condensing section, which is attached to the finger area.' Coming soon to a half-pipe near you..."
I'll take two.
Ride recklessly only when safe to do so.
nature didn't provide us with some kind of fluid that automatically circulates throughout our body to distribute warmth and nutrients.
now my upper arms are cold.
is that his next project?
I could use some of these gloves for Anti-Burnination!
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
That sounds like an idea that could equally apply to those with lower circulation, not just those on the slopes / in the cold.
stuff |
If you wore these long enough in cold weather (-20C or less) would you risk decreasing your core temperature to critical levels?
Ride recklessly only when safe to do so.
My fingers stiffen up and I can't type very well in chilly air. I'm rated at 73 WPM at standard room temperature. Imagine the productivity boost with these babies on! At least 5-10 WPM for sure!
This will negate the very positive Darwinian influence on our gene pool WRT "People who are too fscking stupid to come in out of the cold." ;-)
Sounds neat and all, but they've already shown that maintaining a certain temp in your torso area will help keep those extremities warm. I'd think it would use heatpads on your chest.
Damon,
http://actionPlant.com
He has developed heatpipe-driven gloves which pump therms from your toasty upper arm down to those aforementioned frosty digits.
If he has 'developed' these gloves, I would like to see a picture of them. It looks like these are just as 'developed' as those night-vision contacts over at Popular Science.
Or we could just make gloves out of Aerogel.
The city is being overrun by a herd of Lucy Liu's.
Make heatpipe socks first! Gloves can wait, My feet haven't had good circulation since I learned my first Regular Expression!
Just as irrigation is the lifeblood of the Southwest, lifeblood is the soup of cannibals. -- Jack Handy
But a while back Discovery had a mini series about extreme survival, and one of the shows was about artic survival. The main character, so to speak, tried on an electrical vest of sort, which heated his torso. This allowed him to stay in a -40(I think) degree windtunnel with I think 5 mph winds for more than three hours without losing any dexterity in his fingers.
When the guy who supervised the dexterity and mental acuity test took of his gloves, it took less than three minutes for his hands to be freezing cold, while the infrared camera clearly showed that the main characters fingers were still warm.
Seemed fairly conclusive to me, that the trick was keeping the torso heated, as that would prevent the problems, these gloves are supposed to fix.
Besides - if you can have warm dextorous fingers without wearing gloves, I'd go for that any day of the week, as long as I'm not working with objects, that can hurt my hands.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
Instead of just reshuffling your body heat around with high-tech gloves (and, presumably, making your fingers warmer at the expense of your arms), why not just pop in some of those 99 cent hand warmers you can get at places like Costco? We've used these everywhere from the ski slopes to watching the countdown on New Year's. They're cheap, disposable, and widely available.
my GF is a Raynaud's sufferer and if she get's her hands in anything cold it can stop the circulation in her fingers and feet. causing frostbite even in warmer temperatures like 40degF.
this would make life for a Raynaud's afflicted person much easier on day's like today when it's 6degF outside and expected to be -1 later tonight.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
That reason is: It is better to lose a finger than a lung.
Don't be stupid... keep your body warm first.
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
It's actually better to keep your torso warm.
The draining of blood and heat from your hands and feet happens when your core temperature starts dropping. This is done to protect the vital organs, heart, liver etc over the non-vital, hands, feet. If you can keep your core temperature normal you can actually work without gloves even below zero (celsius). This because the body is warm and needn't cut the heatloss from hands or feet.
There was a good documentary on the Discovery channel about the very subject not long ago.
So, while heatpumping gloves seem nice, I'd go with keeping my body warm and be rid of any gloves hindering my hands.
Yeah, bring on the puns..
Nope. Heatpipes use a fluid and working pressure such that the fluid is almost-boiling at the optimum operating temperature. Heat one end, and the fluid boils, vapor diffuses rapidly to the other end, condenses giving up heat of vaporization, and is absorbed into the wick that runs through the pipe. It then goes back to the other end by capillary action.
That said, it IS more efficient if the bottom end is the "hot" end, 'cause the rising warm fluid vapor and the down-flowing condensed fluid are both assisted by gravity. However, gravity is NOT an essential part of the process (some satellite instruments use heatpipes to keep-em cool in free-fall, for example).
A friend of mine does heat pipes as a business: koolpipes.com
"My strength is as the strength of ten men, for I am wired to the eyeballs on espresso."
Biking!
Without gloves, biking for longer than 30 seconds is painful many winter months. My commute (in western Illinois, less than an hour from Missouri) is only 2 miles, and I wear Thinsulate gloves, and my hands are STILL cold when I get to work.
Personally, I'd like to see a heat pump that moved heat from the small of my back (well insulated by a pack full of books and student papers) to my hands, nose, and ears!
cbd.
Wouldn't the genital region be more appropriate (albeit somewhat less convenient) for this sort of thing? It's designed to keep the "stuff of life" at a healthy 98F. Just have the heatpipe fitted into one's pants with one end nestled against the vital organs and the other woven into pants pockets. Imagine that... a whole new life for the phrase "pocket pool".
Un-news
The reason your hands get cold and numb isn't because they are actually so cold (umm sort of; bear with me); its because your core temperature drops and your thermal maintenance systems shut down blood flow to the extremities. Loss of blood flow in the hands results in the numbness and loss of dexterity.
:)
If you wear a heated vest (or even just keep a charcoal-burning hand warmer in a chest pocket (nice and low tech)) your hands don't get all cold and numb; they stay dexterous and warm. And without *any* gloves at all.
Ok so *serious* below zero temperatures will still result in skin loss if you *touch* something...
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
neat idea, moving the heat that way. here's another application of the same notion. (which i haven't yet seen) they should make a jacket/gloves that warms from a motorcycle cylendar head.
if anyone's ridden a motorbike in cold weather, you know what i mean. something that took the heat from the cylendar head would be a gem.. at 70 mph wind chill in 20 degree weather, nothing from your armpit's gonna help those fingers. many's the day i've ridden one handed in that kind of weather, holding my left hand to the engine block.
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." -Jesus Christ The Lord's Prayer
Anyone who has spent time in extremely cold conditions can attest to the desire for warm gloves. The body just doesn't "do enough" to protect the extremities (at least at first - I find my fingers get so cold that I'm in severe pain, and then suddenly they warm up. There's probably some medical explanation for this - anyone?).
An interesting solution I heard about was conductive textiles - fabrics that act as heating elements (i.e. they're not simply a wire - wires break easily and consume a lot of current). These were apparently used for astronauts gloves. I haven't been able to find civilian gloves using this technology, despite the potential these seem to have for things like skiing and motorcycle riding.
The basic key to keeping your extremities warm is to keep your core body warm so that the blood circulation doesn't get reduced in your extremeties. The problem is - if you are doing anything active in cold weather - skiing, mountaineering, running, etc - you end up having to dress more lightly simply because otherwise you overheat and become sweat soaked and exhausted. Result shortly thereafter: hypothermia.
So that's why these, and the conductive textile gloves are interesting ideas; you can keep you fingers and toes warm without having to overdress. The big question though is - are they reliable? Will your decision to use the batteries that happened to be in your roomie's TV remote control cost you your fingers?
Well since they are polyester I imagine that they are only for walking around.
These gloves should be made with gortex and should be marketed to people that work in the harsh cold and snow.
Unless you actually need all 5 fingers, gloves are really kind'a dumb. Mittens (and yes, people make cool mittens now), are much much warmer then gloves since your fingers are lumped together. Anyone that's lived in cold weather, or is an avid snow rider will tell you that.
These why spend money on expensive Nintendo Power Gloves when you could pick up a pair of trendy mittens for fraction of the price?
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Only if the other garments you were wearing were inadequate for the task of maintaining your body temp despite the extra heat loss to your hands.
:)
But if you're wearing these gloves, but aren't otherwise wearing clothes appropriate to -20, then yeah, you might get hypothermia.
On the other hand, hyperthermia is unlikely to be a problem caused by these gloves in -20C weather.
The enemies of Democracy are
There is a reason that the body restricts blood to the extremities in extreme cold. It's probably better to get a bit of frostbite than hypothermia. Frostbite may cost you a few fingers, but hypothermia makes you confused and uncoordinated, until eventually you lay down in the snow to sleep (and die).
These gloves may be thinner lighter and warmer than gortex gloves, but goretex you can take off when you have to do delicate work (starting a fire) and you can put your hands in your armpits if they get too cold. These gloves require you to take off your coat and shirt and any fleecy layers you may be wearing when it is time to put them back on.
You can have these gloves. I'll keep wiping my nose with my wool mittens.
More music, fewer hits
Yes. So if you are out in the snow naked except for these gloves, then you should take them off. But the problem then isn't really the gloves.
Solution to fend of heat-pipe-glove-induced hypothermia, buy a warm coat to go with it.
The enemies of Democracy are
A lot of readers seem to be missing the point here. The real advantage of this prototype is that it's passive - no batteries, no chemical reactions, nothing. It keeps your fingers warmer by absorbing some heat from your body (that would eventually have ended up in the air) and transferring the heat to your fingertips.
So yes, hand warmers are cheap and effective, but they'll die after a few hours once the reaction finishes.
Keeping your core temp high is a nice idea, but let's say you already have a nice coat and things - I think having some gloves that would passively heat my fingers would be nicely appreciated. Their was a post about how if it's a matter of life-or-death, you should maintain your core temp, but I think the more realistic application of these gloves would be to maintain comfort of your digits when you know you're going to be outside.
Again, the system is passive - no batteries, no chemical reactions, nothing at all. You'd put them on and forget about it.
Our body was designed quite smartly to conserve heat when the temperature drops. Circulation decreases to those parts of the body that are not necessarily important for immediate survival (a.k.a your fingers, toes, tip of your nose, and other protruding misc!) This ensures the maximum amount of heat for places that really need it - your core (a.k.a heart and lungs.) If you are pumping heat from your upper arm to your fingers you may actually be working against your body's own natural defenses.
rootsmith Inc.
I live in Edmonton, Canada. As such, I have to regard phrases like "even below zero (celsius)" with some amusement. Keeping your core warm certainly does help the extremities, but is not a full solution. Walking to school, I remember many times when my hands/ears/feet were freezing while I was sweating inside a huge coat.
I think this likely varies in different people, temperature, wind, activity, etc.. There's lots of situations where I would have been happy to move heat from arm to hand, and when my core was perfectly toasty.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
-- oldy but goody
The interesting thing (to me) is the development of flexible heat pipes. I'm assuming that it uses tubes stuffed with something with great capillary action, maybe CoolMax fabric or something. Don't know if it really needs to be aligned all that well- would probably work better if it were, of course. Either that, or just extrude the tubes with a lot of fins inside for good capillary action. Further developments would be to fabricate a material/plastic with really fine vanes in it, sew it into a bladder shape and fill it with fluid (remembering to seal the seams- this is the GoreTex company that's also working on this). Either way, I'd be worried about fluid loss or bursting of the flexible heat pipes or the resivours at the ends.
And can you imnagine seeing a snowboarder/skier/whoever with these opera-length gloves on? Either they'd need to get capri-style sleeves on their jackets or learn to put the gloves on before putting the jacket. I can just see the new 1/2 sleeve fashion now- and the convertible jackets with zip-off forearms.
Never mind trying to take the gloves off to reach into a pocket or something. How many people here pull their gloves off with their teeth especially when reaching for something quickly? (especially since the other hand is probably already otherwise occupied) Try that with a glove that covers your forearm.
Quick, adapt this thing to underpants and we can do away with 'shrinkage'!
These gloves work by shifting some of the heat from more core parts of your body to your extremities.
So, your body notices the core temperature dropping and says "Crikey! Better shut off those extremities even more."
So, aren't these gloves self defeating? And possibly dangerous because they will lower your core temp while simultaneously reducing the options your body has to naturally fight that drop.
Tuus crepidae innexilis sunt.
Alaska Bugs Sweat Gold Nuggets
You are missing the point. This device works outside of the skin, and only transfers ambient heat.
How would moving heat that would go out into the atmosphere to your hands harm you in any way?
any argument making frequent use of the term 'mitten' is intrinsically hilarious.
I think you have missed the point, they would indeed remove the ambient heat, which would lower the surounding temp of the arm, which would again lead to more heatloss, so the grandparent was indeed correct.