When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
It’s hot. You’re really thirsty, and your canteen in out of water. What do you do? If you are wearing special polymer-treated cotton, you could just squeeze the water out of your clothes.
Researchers at Elndhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands and Hong Kong Polytechnic University have created a special polymer called PNIPAAm that when mixed with cotton is extremely absorbent in temperatures up to 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit, reports ExtremeTech. It can pull moisture out of the air and hold up to 340% of its own weight in water. The polymer itself can hold only 18% of its own weight in water.
So a desert traveler who needs water can rely on the material to provide some life-saving water. He or she could keep the material outside at night or in the early morning when mist or fog commonly rolls in. It takes no other force of nature — such as wind — to work. The water is potable, too.
Once the water drains out of the material, it is ready to absorb again. Above 93.2 degrees, the material becomes water-repellent and pushes out the stored water.
The researchers are trying to increase the amount that the cotton fabric can hold. Also, they want to change the threshold temperature at which the matrix absorbs and releases water.
This will give the fabric more flexibility and more applications. It could be used in more regions that have different temperature fluctuations. The scientists are contemplating whether the fabric also could be used to absorb a person’s sweat, or similar uses as a water collection system for survival gear. Perhaps it could even be used on a farm for an automated watering system.
Another advantage of the material is that it is cheap. The fabric can be made just about anywhere, the scientists claim, and the polymer matrix raises the cost of the overall production only slightly.
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