Level 4 Reading 4B

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WEAVING THE FUTURE Alex Soza is a young Danish fashion designer. He says his ideas come to him in dreams: "I daydream. That's how I get ideas." One of his inventions, a jacket that stays suspended in the air like a balloon after it is taken off, arose from such a daydream. "I was on the subway," he explained, "and this picture of a floating jacket popped into my mind." Soza is one of many dreamers and pioneers who are turning textile fantasies into realities. High-Tech Textiles Not long ago, all fibers that were used to make textiles came from natural sources: wool from the hair of sheep, cotton from the cotton plant, silk from silk worms. The first truly synthetic fiber didn't appear until 1935, when scientists at the DuPont Company invented nylon. Nylon is just one of various industrially produced substances called polymers. Polymers can be pulled into a thread, which makes them well suited for use in textile manufacturing. Synthetic textiles have come a long way since nylon. Kevlar, a textile that is stronger than steel, is used in bullet proof vests and in ropes used by astronauts. Coiled fibers are used in clothing that contracts in cold weather to keep someone warm, and expands in hot weather, creating small holes to keep someone cool. Other high-tech fibers can resist very high temperatures—perfect for firefighters and race-car drivers. Not all companies are forthcoming about their products for fear of having their ideas stolen. However, Hugues Vinchon, a manager at Dubar Warneton—a manufacturer of high-tech textiles in France— is happy to display some of his company's amazing synthetic fibers. There is an oil-eating textile that absorbs five times its weight in oil, and is perfect for cleaning up oil spills. Another absorbs vibrations; "Can you imagine a motorboat you can't hear?" he says. There is also an ordinary-looking cloth bag that is completely water soluble, according to Vinchon. "It's strong enough to carry heavy objects. But if I dip it in boiling water, it disappears." Some high-tech textiles draw their inspiration from nature. Spider silk is a natural fiber that is five times as strong as steel. Unfortunately, spiders cannot be farmed as they will eat each other. The biotechnology firm Nexia has come up with a possible alternative to spider farming: They have inserted a spider gene into goats, thereby causing the goats to produce a milk that contains a protein required for spider silk. Nexia's head, Jeff Turner, is already dreaming of applications for the new fiber, named BioSteel. "Why use rockets to lift objects into orbit? ...Why not have a [big] satellite and dangle a rope down to Earth and pull them up? ... [There's] not a rope that will hold its weight at that length— but spider silk with its high strength-to-weight ratio could." Wearable Electronics Textiles have always been used in clothing. Modern, high-tech textiles may redefine what clothes are all about. "In the past, clothing protected us from the elements," says Ian Scott, head of technology for women's wear at department store Marks & Spencer. "Then clothing became about fashion. The future is about clothing that can do something for you. It's no longer passive. It's active." One example of this active clothing that he hopes to sell in the next few years is an "intelligent bra," a sports bra that can sense stress and adjust its dimensions to give perfect support. Another sports product is Komodo Technologies' smart sleeve for athletes. It has built-in sensors that measure your fitness

编织未来 Alex Soza是一位年轻的丹麦时装设计师。 他说他的想法是在梦中产生的：“我做白日梦。这就是我获得想法的方式。” 他的发明之一，一件像气球一样悬浮在空中的夹克 起飞后，从这样的白日梦中升起。 “我在地铁上，”他解释道， “我突然想到一件漂浮夹克的照片。” 索扎是众多将纺织幻想变为现实的梦想家和先驱之一。 高科技纺织品 不久前，用于制造纺织品的所有纤维都来自天然来源： 羊毛来自绵羊毛，棉花来自棉花植物，丝绸来自蚕。 第一种真正的合成纤维直到1935年才出现， 杜邦公司的科学家发明了尼龙。 尼龙只是各种工业生产的聚合物之一。 聚合物可以被拉成线，这使它们非常适合用于纺织制造。 自尼龙以来，合成纺织品已经取得了长足的进步。 凯夫拉纤维是一种比钢更坚固的纺织品，用于防弹背心和宇航员使用的绳索。 卷曲纤维用于在寒冷天气收缩以保暖的衣服， 在炎热的天气里会膨胀，形成小孔以保持凉爽。 其他高科技纤维可以抵抗非常高的温度，非常适合消防员和赛车手。 并非所有公司都愿意提供产品，因为担心自己的想法被窃取。 然而，法国高科技纺织品制造商Dubar Warneton的经理Hugues Vinchon-- 很高兴展示他公司的一些令人惊叹的合成纤维。 有一种吸油纺织品，它能吸收其重量五倍的油， 非常适合清理漏油。 另一个吸收振动；“你能想象一艘你听不见的摩托艇吗？”他说。 据Vinchon介绍，还有一种外观普通的布袋，完全溶于水。 “它足够坚固，可以搬运重物。但如果我把它浸在沸水中，它就会消失。” 一些高科技纺织品的灵感来自大自然。 蜘蛛丝是一种天然纤维，强度是钢的五倍。 不幸的是，蜘蛛不能被养殖，因为它们会互相吃掉。 生物技术公司Nexia提出了一种蜘蛛养殖的可能替代方案： 他们已经将蜘蛛基因插入山羊体内， 从而使山羊产生含有蜘蛛丝所需蛋白质的牛奶。 Nexia的负责人Jeff Turner已经梦想着这种名为BioSteel的新型纤维的应用。 “为什么使用火箭将物体送入轨道？ ……为什么不有一颗[大]卫星，把一根绳子吊到地球上，然后把它们拉上来呢？ ……没有一根绳子能承受那么长的重量-- 但蜘蛛丝具有较高的强度重量比。" 可穿戴式电子产品 纺织品一直被用于服装。 现代高科技纺织品可能会重新定义服装的意义。 “过去，衣服保护我们免受风雨侵袭。” “然后服装变成了时尚。 未来是关于可以为你做点什么的衣服。 它不再是被动的。它很活跃。" 他希望在未来几年内销售这种运动服的一个例子是“智能胸罩” 一种可以感知压力并调整尺寸以提供完美支撑的运动胸罩。 另一款体育产品是Komodo Technologies为运动员设计的智能套筒。 它有内置的传感器来测量你的健康状况

and stress levels. The data can then be viewed on a smartphone app. The company is also researching ways the sleeve can help detect heart disease. Other wearable electronics are being pioneered at a design laboratory in London run by the European manufacturer Philips Electronics. They are in the planning stages for various high-tech products, including an "intelligent" electronic apron. This smart apron acts as a kind of remote-control device. It has a built-in microphone that allows the wearer to operate kitchen appliances using voice commands. While there are many interesting clothing innovations in the pipeline, few have hit the market. One that did was marketed a few years ago as the first wearable electronics jacket. The jacket, called the ICD+, sold for about a thousand dollars. It had an MP3 player and cell phone. Headphones were built into the hood, and it had a microphone in the collar. Clive van Heerden, director of the Intelligent Fibres group of Philips Design, pointed out that it was an early first step, and a conservative one: "We want to make the jacket that makes the coffee and picks up the kids and keeps track of the shopping list, but it's not going to happen overnight." Future Warriors One of the most important areas of clothing innovation is for the military. High-tech textiles are everywhere at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts. As part of their Future Warrior program, researchers are developing uniforms that will make a soldier difficult or impossible to see. Fibers in the uniform would take on the same color, brightness, and patterns of the wearer's surroundings. A soldier dressed in such a uniform would become nearly invisible to the enemy. In addition to clothing innovations, the researchers at Natick are also working on portable buildings made of what are essentially large, high-strength textile balloons. This "airbeam" technology would allow a team to build a hangar in a fraction of the time it would take to build one out of metal. The largest air-filled beams, about 0.75 meters in diameter and 24 meters long, are so rigid that you can hang a heavy truck from one. Where as a conventional metal hangar takes ten people five days to set up, one made of airbeams can be set up by just six people in two days. Today's textile innovations are astonishing. From Alex Soza's artistic jacket to smart aprons to invisible military uniforms, high-tech textiles will soon be appearing in more and more places. Who can foresee what these textile innovators will dream up next? "Its about imagination!" says Soza, with a bright look in his eye. "Its a beautiful dream! It's turning science fiction into scientific fact!"

以及压力水平。然后可以在智能手机应用程序上查看数据。 该公司还在研究这种袖子可以帮助检测心脏病的方法。 伦敦的一家设计实验室正在率先推出其他可穿戴电子产品 由欧洲制造商飞利浦电子公司运营。 他们正处于各种高科技产品的规划阶段，包括“智能”电子围裙。 这款智能围裙就像一种遥控装置。 它有一个内置麦克风，允许佩戴者使用语音命令操作厨房电器。 虽然有许多有趣的服装创新正在筹备中，但很少有产品进入市场。 其中一件在几年前作为第一件可穿戴电子夹克上市。 它有一个MP3播放器和一部手机。 耳机内置在引擎盖中，衣领上有一个麦克风。 飞利浦设计智能纤维集团总监Clive van Heerden表示， 他指出，这是早期的第一步，也是保守的一步： “我们想做一件夹克，用来煮咖啡、接孩子，并记录购物清单， 但这不会在一夜之间发生。" 未来战士 服装创新最重要的领域之一是军事。 马萨诸塞州纳蒂克的美国陆军士兵系统中心到处都是高科技纺织品。 作为他们未来战士计划的一部分， 研究人员正在开发制服，使士兵难以或不可能被看到。 制服中的纤维将呈现与穿着者周围环境相同的颜色、亮度和图案。 穿着这种制服的士兵几乎看不见敌人。 除了服装创新，Natick的研究人员还在研究便携式建筑 由本质上是大型、高强度的纺织气球制成。 这种“空气束”技术将允许一个团队建造机库 用金属建造一个所需时间的一小部分。 最大的充气梁直径约0.75米，长24米， 它们太坚固了，你可以把一辆重型卡车挂在上面。 传统的金属机库需要十个人五天的时间来搭建， 一个由空气束制成的装置可以在两天内由六个人完成。 今天的纺织创新令人震惊。 从Alex Soza的艺术夹克到智能围裙再到隐形军装， 高科技纺织品将很快出现在越来越多的地方。 谁能预见这些纺织创新者接下来会想到什么？ “这是关于想象力的！”索扎说，眼睛里一亮。 “这是一个美丽的梦想！它正在把科幻小说变成科学事实！”

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