Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 14 2017, @01:19PM   Printer-friendly
from the mood-clothing dept.

Pickup line, circa 2030: "Do my pants think it's hot in here, or is it just you?"

Imagine a single-coloured piece of cloth that suddenly displays a colourful pattern when the ambient temperature changes. Upon further temperature change, a completely different pattern shows up.

[...] Marjan Kooroshnia began her research on already existing descriptions of leuco dye-based thermochromic inks; below their activation temperature they are coloured, and above their activation temperature they are clear or have a light hue. In addition, they are usually blended with static pigments, allowing them to change from one colour to another.

[...] After a lot of testing in the printing lab, she managed to mix the inks so that they looked similar when they were in a non-heated state and they change to different colours as result of increasing temperature.

Then, she explored thermochromic inks with different activation temperatures in order to create a wide spectrum of colours that would appear at different temperatures. She used thermochromic inks with activation temperatures of 27, 37 and 47°C to create a dynamic pattern that colour changing effects that appear in sequence due to increasing temperature; for example, the pattern has one colour at 27°C, another colour at 37°C and another colour at 47°C.

Or will it take off as a uniform that's white when it's cold, and camouflage pattern when it's hot?


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by VLM on Tuesday March 14 2017, @03:13PM (3 children)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 14 2017, @03:13PM (#478937)

    Or will it take off as a uniform that's white when it's cold, and camouflage pattern when it's hot?

    Assuming its non-fading and would last under solar UV longer than one season (LOL keep wishing) I'd pay up to "boat paint" prices per gallon for roof paint thats reliably long term white above 90F and pitch black below 60F or so.

    By "boat paint" prices I mean I wouldn't blink at $100/gallon but its gotta be under $300 or so. Like $200 and up is aircraft paint territory and below $100/gallon is like disposable housepaint territory.

    The profitability at perhaps $150/gallon depends on mfgr cost and longevity on my flat-ish roof.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Interesting=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   4  
  • (Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Tuesday March 14 2017, @03:58PM

    by Scruffy Beard 2 (6030) on Tuesday March 14 2017, @03:58PM (#478966)

    I have seen a harry potter mug [harrypottershop.com] that works sort of like that (not that specific design).

    It has a heat-sensitive layer that goes from black to clear in the presence of heat. I guess the important question is if it works the same way in the IR spectrum.

  • (Score: 2) by rondon on Wednesday March 15 2017, @12:58PM

    by rondon (5167) on Wednesday March 15 2017, @12:58PM (#479370)

    I will absolutely second the motion. Any time the weather is fluctuating around 70 degrees F (about 5 months of the year for me, coastal SE US), I wish there were more passive ways to maintain the interior temps where I like them.

  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday March 15 2017, @04:32PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday March 15 2017, @04:32PM (#479473)

    Longer than one season is the trick.

    Also, what's wrong with white all the time? Do you really want to radiate MORE heat to space at night when ambient temp is below 60F? Even on cool days, a white roof will heat up quite a bit in direct sun - so it's hard for the paint to sense "true ambient" temp.

    I like the LCD window idea - electronically switch between clear and opaque / reflective. That would be easy to automate and connect to a "smart" thermostat.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]