Engineering

Developing fabrics that change shape when they heat up

New textiles developed at Aalto University change shape when they heat up, giving designers a wide range of new options. In addition to offering adjustable esthetics, responsive smart fabrics could also help monitor people's ...

Energy & Green Tech

Enhancing organic solar cells' green glow

Organic solar cells could be made even greener by switching the solvents used in their manufacture. Today's toxic chlorinated solvents can be replaced by plant-derived alternatives without affecting the resulting solar cells' ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Printable circuits that can work on fabric, plastic and even fruit

Remember iron-on decals? All you had to do was print something out on special paper with a home printer, then transfer it onto a T-shirt using an iron. Now, scientists have developed a very similar scheme, but instead of ...

Engineering

Researchers 3D print sensors for satellites

MIT scientists have created the first completely digitally manufactured plasma sensors for orbiting spacecraft. These plasma sensors, also known as retarding potential analyzers (RPAs), are used by satellites to determine ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Smart textiles sense how their users are moving

Using a novel fabrication process, MIT researchers have produced smart textiles that snugly conform to the body so they can sense the wearer's posture and motions.

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Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or pressing fibres together (felt).

The words fabric and cloth are used in textile assembly trades (such as tailoring and dressmaking) as synonyms for textile. However, there are subtle differences in these terms in specialized usage. Textile refers to any material made of interlacing fibres. Fabric refers to any material made through weaving, knitting, spreading, crocheting, or bonding that may be used in production of further goods (garments, etc.). Cloth may be used synonymously with fabric but often refers to a finished piece of fabric used for a specific purpose (e.g., table cloth).

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