'Mirror Fabric' Cools Wearer by 5°C

Now this is a (literally) cool shirt!

Chinese engineers Ma Yaoguang of Zhejiang University and Tao Guangming of Huazhong University of Science and Technology created a new metamaterial fabric that cools the wearer by 5°C.

The new metafabric, made of polylactic acid and synthetic fiber blend with titanium dioxide nanoparticles scattered throughout - used chemical bonds to absorb body heat and re-emit its energy into space as mid-infrared radiation. The nanoparticles also reflect UV, visible, and near-infrared spectrum, further cooling the wearer. While the fabric can be made into a regular shirt, "optically, it's a mirror," said Tao.

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A shirt with cotton on the left-side and the new metafabric on the right-side was worn by a graduate student, who then sat in a lawn chair in direct sunlight for one hour. As seen in the picture above, the metafabric right-side was cooler by 5°C as measured by an infrared camera.

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