Nano Fabric

Nanotechnology can improve fabrics, making them harder wearing and more resistant to dirt, water, oils or other chemicals. Many of these developments are based on what happens in nature. For example the lotus leaf is covered in nanoscale waxy “bumps” which causes water to bead and be shed easily. Fruits such as peaches are covered in tiny hairs which achieve the same effect. By incorporating such features in manufactured materials they too can be made water and stain repellent.

Nanotechnology is also leading to the incorporation of other features in clothing. This includes electronics for regulating temperature and monitoring health, lighter impact resistant materials and even shape-changing and colour-changing abilities. Although initially being developed by the military these could be used by police and rescue workers, offering for example constant monitoring of vital signs and greater body protection.

Some of the research and development is already filtering down to commercial products for ordinary citizens, such as the trousers pictured on the left. Experts sometimes disagree about what constitutes the nanoscale, but in general, you can think of nanotechnology dealing with anything measuring between 1 and 100 nm. Larger than that is the microscale, and smaller than that is the atomic scale. Nanotechnology is rapidly becoming an interdisciplinary field. Biologists, chemists, physicists and engineers are all involved in the study of substances at the nanoscale.