Nanotech fabrics on global scale: high-tech clothing and the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil

The football championship 2014 in Brazil has already started, hundred goals have already been scored, yet one question seems to stay unanswered. What do the players jerseys consist of? The FIFA Football World Cup is the ideal platform to showcase new technology around the continually evolving field of sportswear. With 32 teams across the globe kit suppliers, like Puma have been working in overdrive to ensure that the players have kits that are optimised to improve their performance on the field.

While most people focus on the patriotic colors, there is also a lot of technology that goes into those kits that are worn by the players. Take the case of Puma, which supplies kits to the teams such as Italy, Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria and Uruguay. The kits supplied to the teams include the latest innovation from Puma - PWR ACTV (Power Active Technology) which combines athletic taping and compression fit fabric, within the apparel. This shirt by PUMA is the first shirt ever that includes athletic taping in the shirt.

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Now what does athletic taping mean?

It is the process of applying tape directly to the skin in order to maintain a stable position of bones and muscles during athletic activity. The goal of this athletic taping is to restrict the motion of injured joint, compress soft tissues to reduce swelling, serve as a splint, protect the injured joint form re-injury. Normally these tapes are taped directly to the skin, this time they are in the material itself. The ACTV tape is placed strategically in the garment, looking like a very thin rubberised coating. It provides micro-massage to the player to specific muscle areas, which helps promote energy supply to the muscles.

What are compression fit fabrics?

Compression sportswear is used by athletes during exercise or a soccer game to prevent chafing and rashes, as well as to ease muscle stiffness and quicken recovery time. This clothes may be shirts, shorts, tights or underwear. They are form-fitting garments often made from a spandex-type material. Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity.

The main benefits of compression sportswear is that it keeps muscles warm to prevent muscle strain and fatigue and wick sweat away from the body to prevent chafing and rashes.

Compression fit fabrics are like rubber bands tightly along the players’ bodies, holding the muscles tightly together to prevent vibration while running. The jersey moves with you and acts like a second skin.

Its the closest thing you can get to not wearing a shirt, while actually wearing one.

Another feature of nanotech clothing?

In the course of this CAJ it has already been shown that nanotech clothing can be bullet-proof, waterproof, but nevertheless breathable. What has not been revealed, however, is the fact that nanotech clothing is also able to regulate the body temperature. How does this work?

The concept of clothes regulating body temperature is closely linked to the waterproof and breathable characteristics of high-tech clothing. Instead of just preventing moisture from penetrating the fabric and evaporating the sweat, this kind of technology absorbs the excess heat created by the body, stores it and releases it later, as the body cools down. This smart technology has been certified by the NASA for the use in outer space.

One of the more popular brands of this kind of clothing is Outlast®. This clothing system recycles the body’s heat, captures it, stores it and when needed releases it. This can be achieved by the Thermocules® (microcapsules) on the inside layer of the piece of clothing. These Thermocules absorb, store and release excess body heat. In this vein Outlast® products seek to reduce overheating and shivering and regularly distribute the warmth.  

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How do Thermocules store heat? What do PCM-materials have to do with it?

The answer to this question are the PCM-materials. These are phase-change materials, used to cool medicine, for example. PCM is a substance that melts or solidifies at a certain temperature. These materials use phase changes (solidifying/liquefying) to absorb or release relatively large amounts of latent heat. Latent heat is the energy released or absorbed by a body during a constant temperature process. This means that only the substance’s physical state changes, which causes energy to be absorbed or released, but not its temperature.

The temperature of PCMs rises as they absorb heat. They continue to absorb heat until all the material is transformed to the liquid phase. When the ambient temperature around the liquid material falls, it solidifies and releases the stored heat.

Ice cubes are an illustrative example of how phase change materials work: as they melt in a drink, they absorb heat from their environment; as they solidify in the freezer compartment, they release heat into it.

When an ice cube forms, the particles of the freezing water move together, releasing the stored energy, as there is no room left for it;  when he melts, the particles move apart, making space for energy to be absorbed.

Why is temperature regulating clothing needed?

In the first place it has long only been used by athletes, as it keeps them comfortable while they exercise. In the last couple of years, however, this type of clothing has also become popular for everyday use. Waking up in the middle of the night sweating, for example, means a sleepless night for many people. Temperature regulating clothing can give them a better night’s sleep.

How instant photographs work:

In order to understand how instant photographs are developed within a few seconds, some information on the structure of traditional photographic film, as well as film used in polaroid cameras has to be given. Traditional color films used in photography consist of a plastic base coated with three layers of light sensitive silver compounds. The top layer is sensitive to blue light, the middle one to green light and the bottom layer to red light. When the film is exposed to light the sensitive grain on each layer reacts to it, forming metallic silver at that layer. Therefore, a chemical record of the light and color pattern is created. In order to receive a picture from this, the film has to be developed. 

The developing process in polaroid cameras is similar to that of normal film, but the developing chemicals are already present in the film itself. It has its own built-in developing studio. The undeveloped polaroid has different layers. The base is formed by the black layer, followed by three light-sensitive layers in red, green and blue, which are separated from each other by dye coupler layers. On the very top there are the image, timing and acid layers. 

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The chemical that is needed to set off the developing process is called reagent. It is situated between the light-sensitive layer and the image layer. The reagent is a mixture of opacifiers, which block light, alkali and white pigments that make the undeveloped polaroid opaque, to prevent light from further exposing the photograph. When the picture is ejected by the camera in between two metal rollers, the chemical packets in the camera are pinched on bottom of the film, broken open and the reagent is spread over the surface of the image, starting a series of chemical reactions. The reagent chemicals move downwards, changing the exposed particles in each layer into metallic silver. The reagent also dissolves the dye couplers, causing them to move towards the image layer. The silver compounds stop the dye from moving further. Therefore, only dye from the unexposed sections continues to move upwards to the image layer to form the picture. In the meantime the alkali and the opacifier in the reagent react with the acid layer of the paper, making the opacifier layer become clear. In this vein the image starts to appear. The timing layer is used to slow down the reagent on its path to the acid layer, so the opacifiers do not turn clear before the image is fully developed underneath. As soon as the opacifiers are cleared up by the acid layers, the fully developed photograph can be seen. 

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Abstract: WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK: MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the flexibility of mathematical modelling and to prove that mathematical models can respond to a variety of biological challenges, including infectious diseases, represented here as “zombie” infections. Five different models are presented containing different variables. The first three models conclude with the fact that coexistence between humans and zombies is impossible, as this will eventually lead to the eradication of human beings. In the fourth model the existence of a cure for zombiism is taken into consideration, which enables humans to survive in low numbers. Only in the fifth model humans survive an outbreak relatively undamaged, by eradicating the zombies. Although in the different formulas different parameters were used, it becomes clear that in case of an outbreak, it has to be dealt with quickly. Despite being unrealistic, the findings of the zombie outbreak scenario can in real life be applied to examine diseases with dormant infection. As can be seen by the outcomes, mathematical modelling is very flexible.

dmm.med.ubc.ca

Waterproof fabric

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In order to understand how waterproof clothing works, we have to understand what waterproof fabrics are and what they are made of. Waterproof fabrics, or breathable fabrics, as they are often called, are fabrics that have been treated to become resistant to penetration by water and wetting. What is special about them is that they keep water from passing through, but allow water vapor to evaporate. Usually they are natural or synthetic fabrics that are laminated or coated with waterproofing material, such as rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane (PU). These are materials that are used in Mackintosh jackets, sauna suits, inflatable boats and even in footballs and glasses. 

What is PVC and PU?

PVC clothing is shiny clothing made of the plastic polyvinyl chloride. PU clothing consists out of waterproof fabric, typically polyester, but may be cotton or a polyblend material that has been heat-laminated to a polyurethane layer. It is lightweight and extremely durable. These fabrics are used in several industries, from medical companies to the manufacture of diapers and active wear.

How can waterproof fabrics keep water from passing through, but allow water vapor to move through its fabric?

Making a material breathable and waterproof is often accomplished by using a membrane or substance that consists of many tiny holes. These pore-like holes are too small for a water droplet to pass through it, but are large enough for air molecules to evaporate. This allows a breathable waterproof jacket to protect underclothes from getting wet, while allowing sweat to pass through and escape from a person’s skin or clothes.

Detailed description

All in all there are three layers: 

Inside

The interior or underside of WP/BR rainwear uses one of the following techniques and technologies to become waterproof and breathable: 

Laminates are formed when a WP/BR membrane is bonded to the underside of a garment's face fabric, as if wallpaper was applied to a wall. In other words: membrane (or wallpaper) + fabric (or wall) = a laminate. 

Coatings are liquid solutions that provide WP/BR characteristics when spread across the interior of a garment. It is like applying an ultrathin coat of paint to a wall. 

All rainwear exteriors, also known as face fabrics are treated with a durable water repellent (DWR) finish. A DWR affects only the exterior of rainwear and is separate from the laminate or coating. Its purpose is to protect the face fabric from becoming saturated, weighing it down and causing any sensation of dampness. It (DWR) accomplishes this by causing water to bead up and roll off the garment's exterior. DWRs however do not inhibit fabric breathability.  

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Sources: 

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-breathable-waterproof-fabric.htm

http://www.bicycleapparel.com/quick-reference/rain-gear/waterproof-fabrics.html

http://www.campinglife.com/camping-gear/high-tech-outdoor-fabrics/

http://www.dickiesstore.co.uk/blog/2013/10/08/waterproof-fabric-history/

http://specialtyfabricsreview.com/articles/0810_ep80_transhield.html

http://dogblog.ruffwear.net/2010/06/01/the-difference-between-waterproof-and-water-resistant/

http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/rainwear-how-it-works.html

How to go back in time and prevent other time travelers from killing Hitler (following 14 simple steps):

Requirements: 

• a time machine
• charme
• eagle eyes 
• talent for observation 
• acting talent 
• persuading-skills 
• sleeping pills 
• a wheelbarrow (when needed) 
• patience 
• willingness to undergo plastic surgery 
• a general's uniform 
• the article: "Time Travelers: Please don‘t kill Hitler" by Dean Burnett
• blackmailing skills
• be able to give a lecture
• "puppy face skills"

1. Enter the time machine and choose a point in time in Hitlers youth at which it was still possible to get close to him. 
2. Attend the same school as Hitler and become his "best friend forever til the end". 
3. Always stay close by his side, preferably avoid to eat, to sleep and to go to the toilet, so nobody can seize the chance to attack him, while you are not around him.
4. If time travelers appear in front of you and attempt to kill Hitler, start crying hysterically and try to explain that, behind the facade of being a complete, cold-hearted bastard, he is not a completely lost soul. 
5. Tell them to leave him alone. 
6. Make sure they enter their time machine and go back into their decade. 
7. If they refuse to voluntarily return, administer sleeping pills to them, and carry them back to their time machine (you might want to use a wheelbarrow to do so). 
8. If this does not work, keep waiting until Hitler establishes his Nazi Party, change your face through plastic surgery, so he does not recognize you, and become one of his generals. 
9. Position hundreds of security guards around Hitler, his residence and the Reich Chancellery and make sure that they lie on look out in case suspicious people appear. 
10. If time travelers arrive to kill Hitler, let the guards bring them to you. 
11. Show them the article “Time Travelers: Please don‘t kill Hitler” by Dean Burnett and try to explain why it is a bad idea to get rid of him just yet. 
12. If they do not listen, threaten them that their smart phones will disappear if they kill Hitler and he will be safe. 
13. If they do listen, assure them that you do not like Hitler as well, but in order not to change the future it is better not to change things in the past.
14. While saying that do the "puppy face". They will understand and Hitler will not be killed. 

Rating Instructions – How to make a camera lucida

The handwritten and hand-drawn instructions on “How to make a camera lucida” are not very helpful. By looking at these instructions you feel disoriented and confused. They are hard to understand, especially for children, that are likely to be the main target group. There are several reasons for this. The first major point is that the instructions are not properly structured. There is no numbering which makes it easy to accidentally miss a step. The same applies to the pictures, where there is no chronological order. The drawings are arranged randomly on the page, which might cause confusion. Additionally, there is no list of components. The only way to find out which parts and measurements are needed is by looking at the drawings. These, in turn, can only be understood in connection with the text. Another important point concerns the macro and micro structure of the instructions. First of all, many separate points are written together in one paragraph, which again can confuse the reader. Furthermore, the text never mentions what the camera is used for. Another crucial point is that essential instructions are left out (for example how to glue the piece of plastic into the box). In addition, there are several articles missing in front of nouns and the “and”s in the text are replaced by ampersands. In conclusion can be said that the instructions can be misleading and complicated for people who are ungifted in handcrafting and/or who do not know what a camera lucida is. 

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