Researchers develop clothing made from color-changing thread that could save lives by alerting wearers when harmful gases are present
- Team of researchers say a new high-tech smart clothing fabric could save lives
- A dyed thread can detect noxious gases and change colors to alert the wearer
- The technology’s application could help detect fatal gas leaks in the future
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Avoiding dangerous gases could soon be as easy as checking your wristwatch, thanks to a new type of thread.
Researchers at Tufts University say a special chemically dyed thread is capable of visually alerting the wearer to the presence of toxic gases like ammonia or hydrogen chloride.
The clue lies in the fabric’s rapidly color-changing capabilities, which change when there’s gas in the air.
Avoiding dangerous gases could soon be as easy as checking your wristwatch, thanks to a new type of thread. The smart thread has color-changing capabilities that alert to dangerous gases
WHAT IS GAS-DETECTING SMART THREAD?
A new type of dye can be applied to thread, giving it the ability to detect gases by changing colors.
The wearer can use the visual cue to judge if and also how how much gas is present.
Among the targeted gases are ammonia, carbon monoxide, and more.
The thread can be worn by people working in the oil and gas industry who are at risk of explosions.
Depending on the depth and intensity of the color change, the wearer can go beyond simply knowing that certain gases are near and infer what exactly the concentration is, researchers said.
‘The dyes we used work in different ways, so we can detect gases with different chemistries,’ said Sameer Sonkusale, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Tufts University’s School of Engineering.
Researchers say that while their new technology, which they describe as a ‘smart thread,’ wouldn’t be a replacement for electronically powered detectors, they would help decrease the barrier of training and expertise.
By using a color-coded system, anyone with a rubric who is capable of viewing the fabric could know exactly when and where there are noxious gases.
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Use of the potentially life-saving dies could be applied to an array of situations, say researchers.
Among them are more professional situations like workers excavating oil or gas who are at risk of explosions, but also include domestic scenarios like deadly carbon monoxide leaks.
Researchers at Tufts University say a special chemically dyed thread is capable of visually alerting the wearer to the presence of toxic gases like ammonia or hydrogen chloride
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). in the U.S., 50,000 people are brought to the emergency room every year for carbon monoxide poisoning and around 430 die each year.
For a more precise reading, experts say that threads could also be analyzed using a smartphone which would also allow the detection of multiple gases at once.
Despite the fabrics seemingly high-tech applications, researchers say they took care to also make the threads durable.
By sealing dyes inside the threads using a polymer, clothing made from the material is able to be washed and reused without affecting its performance. The added endurance also means that clothing would be able to detect gases like ammonia underwater.
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