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New Yarn Conducts Electricity

sciencehabit writes: Researchers report the creation of an ultrathin, fabric circuit that keeps high conductivity even while bending and stretching as much as yoga pants. The fiber's core mimics spandex, consisting of an elastic synthetic thread—polyurethane—twinned by two cotton yarns. These stretchy strings were then dipped in silver nanoparticles to instill conductivity and then liquid silicone to encase everything. This silver nanoyarn could stretch as much as spandex—500% of its original length—and retain a high conductivity (688 siemens per centimeter), the team reports online this month in ACS Nano. That's 34 times the conductivity and five times the flexibility seen with prior attempts at nanowires made from graphene. The fibers kept high conductivity after being bent 1000 times or wrapped around fingers. The team used their yarn to link light-emitting diodes within foldable plastic, meaning the fibers might serve as flexible wiring in new-age curved TVs, stretchable digital screens, or electronic clothing.

44 comments

  1. yoga pants by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    profit!

    1. Re:yoga pants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You could literally charge your phone on someone's rear.

      More seriously, getting bent 1000 times or getting wrapped around a finger? What about a washing machine? That is like advertising a car, but saying it only works on terrain without potholes or hills.

    2. Re:yoga pants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I cannot fathom why this made the front page. I don't even like yams!

    3. Re:yoga pants by Lost+Race · · Score: 1

      The keming rnonster strikes again!

    4. Re:yoga pants by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      Considering the number of US FAT Asses I've seen running around in Yoga pants lately, I'd think that testing this material on the asses of folks in the US today would be the ultimate test.

      I've often thought I should lobby for spandex laws, I mean, if you put on spandex and can hear it "scream", you shouldn't be wearing spandex.

      :)

      Man...we have a serious obesity problem here in the US, and I don't see it stabilizing yet, much less getting better.

      On the other hand, if we used the electrical conductivity to give a mild *shock* to the wearer of this material when they are eating overly caloric meals, or going past their caloric intake for the day, maybe hooked to the new smart watches....maybe it would do some good.

      ON the other hand, maybe I started drinking beer a tad too early this Saturday morning. :)

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  2. It's electric! by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    Do do do do do do do do do do, do do do do do do do do do ....

  3. Finaly by Trachman · · Score: 1

    Finally there is a respectable replacement for the tin foil. Electricity conducting fabric can also act as a Faraday cage, thus tin foil can be retired.

    The problem is that such electricity conducting clothes will drive magnetic scanners crazy in the airports, and we should expect the roll-out of TSA procedures to screen naked people, for such clothes will be impenetrable to the airport porn scanners.

    1. Re:Finaly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      except tin foil hats work where there isn't any electricity. So you can't replace that. Especially for the more paranoid out there who think they can spy on you through the power lines. (which they somewhat can..)

  4. Silver not copper by drnb · · Score: 1

    So we really want silver embedded in our fabrics not copper, good to know.

    1. Re:Silver not copper by xonen · · Score: 1

      Actually, silver is already used in fabrics as anti-bacterial additive (or anti-smell, depending how it's advertised) in various brands of sport clothes.

      How beneficial this is for the health is another question, as it remains a heavy metal. Other nitpickers say it gets washed out after only a few wash cycles (and consequently pollute the waste water).

      --
      A glitch a day keeps the bugs away.
    2. Re:Silver not copper by swell · · Score: 1

      Silver is often beneficial for health. Before antibiotics there was silver. Worked fine.

      Today there are silver colloids available for various internal and external disturbances. There is a silver compound being used in some hospitals on various railings and things people touch a lot. It kills germs, even those like MRSA that are hard to kill. Germs are unable to become resistant to the killing power of silver. People with various symptoms use silver colloids as eye drops, nasal irrigating fluid, for wound protection, and they drink it. Antibiotics, OTOH, will dramatically weaken your immune system and your digestion may take months to recover.

      Silver can't be patented. The medical establishment has powerful incentive to use only patented products. They and our government still tend to feel the same way about vitamins and other supplements; no patent, no recommendation. And for some reason they want you to eat lots of carbohydrates and no fat. Could it have anything to do with the Food & Drug Lobbyists in Washington and your doctor's office?

      --
      ...omphaloskepsis often...
  5. Awesome Villian Tech by binarylarry · · Score: 1

    The X-Men will come to fear the true source of my power...

    I AM ELECROCHET!

    --
    Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
  6. insert joke here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yoga pants .. siemens per cm. insert joke here

    1. Re: insert joke here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My thoughts exactly!

  7. Taser-Proof Clothing at Last by jaa101 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is just what we need to wear to taser-proof ourselves. The conductive fibres should be able to short out the high voltage more effectively than our bodies. We might get a little burned---I'm not sure how much power (as opposed to voltage) tasers put out---but I suspect that's going to be preferable to the alternative electrocuting effects. I guess if it works the police will ban it the same as bullet-proof vests.

    1. Re:Taser-Proof Clothing at Last by Noah+Haders · · Score: 3, Informative

      -I'm not sure how much power (as opposed to voltage) tasers put out---

      The Internet says "The TASER® devices release an electric current (TASER® C2 - 30 seconds of 50,000 volts at 7 watts, TASER® M26c - 5 seconds of 50,000 volts at 26 watts)". The low wattage makes sense ecause they're powered by 9v batteries.

    2. Re:Taser-Proof Clothing at Last by westlake · · Score: 1

      This is just what we need to wear to taser-proof ourselves

      and this accomplishes what, exactly, other than a rapid escalation of force in any confrontation with the police?

    3. Re:Taser-Proof Clothing at Last by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I feel you could already do this by wearing chainmail. Even some tinfoil would work. You would only need to sort out issues with grounding.

    4. Re:Taser-Proof Clothing at Last by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The yarn is insulated, which makes it a good wire. You don't want a wire to short a taser as others have pointed out.

      I'm not sure why you a planning to be taered, but you should consider if they police use non-lethal force and that fails, it isn't a win for you, unless your goal was to escalate to lethal force.

  8. Instil? by WillKemp · · Score: 0

    [......] dipped in silver nanoparticles to instill conductivity [......]

    instil
    verb
    1. gradually but firmly establish (an idea or attitude) in a person's mind.

    2. put (a substance) into something in the form of liquid drops.

    Which sense of instil did you mean?

    1. Re:Instil? by stephenmac7 · · Score: 1

      It's obviously personifying the fabric and establishing the attitude of conductivity in its mind.

      --
      "No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session." -- Judge Gideon J. Tucker
    2. Re:Instil? by cynicist · · Score: 1

      Probably the second one of these

      Instill
      transitive verb

      1. to cause to enter drop by drop (ex. instill medication into the infected eye)
      2. to impart gradually (ex. instilling a love of learning in children)

      (Source)

  9. What day is it again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't want to know how much semen you can get on your yoga pants, much less 600. Yuck.

  10. Silver conducts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Holy shit you guys, if you dip things in silver, they become conductive to electricity!

  11. LED Clothes are fun! by MindPrison · · Score: 1

    Yes they are. I remember having this idea when I worked for a Fashion Designer School back in my youth. I was an avid electronics hobbyist and already thought of sewing electronics into garment back then. You could make scrolling text, spectacular graphical displays, especially easy today with all the Arduino/AVR microcontrollers cheaply available just about anywhere.

    Other ideas, the Customs officers could have metal detection technology built right into their garment/gloves etc. Other detectors too, the uses are unlimited.

    --
    What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
  12. The sticky comparison question by dbIII · · Score: 2

    We know about this new stuff, but for comparison we need to know how many semens per centimeter there can be on conventional yoga pants.

  13. That's Nothing... by DrunkenTerror · · Score: 1

    Old yarn conducts orchestras.

  14. Is this a late 4.1 joke? by sgt+scrub · · Score: 1

    Are they really saying fat guys like me can be electrifying?

    --
    Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
  15. The good news is that... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    After an EMP attack, the phone in your pocket would still work. The bad news is that even if you could locate the eight or so other hipsters who might be wearing conductive pants, the communications infrastructure would still be fried.

  16. Your Jacket is Now Dry by neoshroom · · Score: 1
    --
    Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
  17. 500% !!! by swell · · Score: 1

    "500% of its original length"

    Wait a minute; that's five times the original length. Are we supposed to be impressed by the big number? Well let's make it bigger: 500.000%

    The summary begins with "Researchers report...", but this sounds like marketing exaggeration. Is there anything in the summary but useless numbers and facts followed by wild speculation?

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...
    1. Re:500% !!! by solidraven · · Score: 1

      Quite frankly, these things suck as a conductor, and will most likely have terrible parasitics making them useless for even low speed data transmission. We've been working on this problem at work for quite a while now, and I can tell you there are far better solutions out there already. Not to mention their demonstration method is quite pointless, nor does it solve any of the real issues (e.g. connectivity). Additionally this thing most likely won't survive a few washing cycles very well.

      In short: I have far more impressive deformable circuits sitting right on my desk...

  18. aw ohh by Cafe+Alpha · · Score: 1

    Teletubbies tech!

  19. siemens per cm? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    That's a valid unit, sure, but... why?

    You show this to anyone who works with electronics and the first thing they are going to do is ask that be turned into ohms/meter, just like any other form of wire. Siemens are a materials-scientist unit, not an electronics unit.

    1. Re:siemens per cm? by vandamme · · Score: 1

      Ohm-cm would be better.

  20. Heated clothing by Twinbee · · Score: 1

    Combine this with flexible batteries (or at least very high-energy ones, and we have clothes which can heat themselves! Imagine a sock or vest which can keep you warm for a number of hours if need be.

    --
    Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
    1. Re:Heated clothing by Paul+Carver · · Score: 1

      Why imagine when you can just buy them? Heated socks and vests and jackets and pants are hardly new. I got mine from Gerbing years ago but there are other brands as well.

  21. Oh HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY! by TheRealHocusLocus · · Score: 1

    A new way to make headphones and earbuds and everything else even more flaky and more non-repairable. I replaced the horse-hair wire of my daughter's headphones with double-ought wire. She doesn't use them anymore... but they still work!

    --
    <blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
  22. chair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally comfortable electric chair!

  23. Thousand times worse that copper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=688+siemens+per+centimeter+%2F+copper+conductivity

  24. (688 siemens per centimeter) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My doctor says that's low.

  25. Huh, someone's taken this joke too seriously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It reminds me an old Dilbert strip, http://dilbert.com/strip/1999-12-26.

  26. So NSA will put a back door in my heated thermals by ozduo · · Score: 0

    Cool! Every rime I take a dump I'll think of you!

    --
    I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
  27. siemens per meter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If conductivity is the recripocal of resistivity, then shouldn't the number of siemens, i.e. the magnitude of conductivity decrease with length? If so, how does it make sense to refer to siemens per meter?