Experience the warmth of a well-crafted sweater, like a comforting embrace in yarn form. The secret behind its resilience lies in friction.
When stretched, knit fabric bounces back, not to a predetermined shape but to a multitude of potential forms known as “metastable states,” as explained by Crassous from the University of Rennes in France. Each stretch reveals new possibilities for the fabric’s shape and size.
In innovative experiments, researchers manipulated knit fabric on frames and observed how it responded to different levels of stretching. The results showed that the fabric could adapt to various metastable states depending on the direction and intensity of the stretch.
Computer simulations further confirmed this phenomenon with fiber loops. Removing friction eliminated these diverse states, highlighting the crucial role it plays in maintaining the fabric’s flexibility.
2024-12-23 12:00:00
Discover more at www.sciencenews.org