I haven’t been reading much on the nanotechnology front lately, but this article in The Economist’s technology section was worth a quick look: researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a process for applying a solution containing nanotubes made out of a chemical called Nafion (which is a derivative of Teflon) to cotton fabric. Multiple applications to the fabric allow the nanotube solution to bind to individual cotton fibers. Nafion is conductive, and so the adherence of the nanotubes to the cotton fibers makes the fabric itself conductive. In tests, the researchers have discovered that the coated fabric can detect the presence of blood from its albumin levels, suggesting the possible application for the fabric in sensor garments that can monitor the physical status of medical patients or even soldiers in the field.
The fabric conducts enough electricity to power a single LED, so it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with all the stupid and frivolous applications of “electric cotton”. It also doesn’t take much to think up a variety of scenarios where wearing electrically conductive clothing might be rather less than desirable. So I hope this particular breakthrough gets a good, long, hard look before electric underpants start selling at Sears.
