Polar bear’s fur inspires Chinese breakthrough in super insulator for space
- Synthetic material that mimics and improves on nature could be used in China’s hypersonic space plane
What can withstand heat of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 Fahrenheit), maintain its elasticity in extreme cold, and dry almost instantly after being submerged in water?
The answer is a new synthetic fur which has been developed by Chinese scientists, who set out to mimic – and improve upon – the unique properties of the polar bear’s coat.
The team, led by Professor Yu Shuhong, was at first simply curious to know what made the polar bear so comfortable and successful in the unforgiving environment of the Arctic.
In their laboratory in Hefei, in the southeastern province of Anhui, they studied polar bear hair with a high-definition microscope and found a unique difference compared to the hair of human beings and other mammals.
It was hollow inside. What’s more, they observed the tubelike hairs intertwined with one another, forming a random network like a bird's nest. Using theoretical models on a powerful computer, the researchers confirmed that the structure was an efficient heat insulator.
The only drawback was its fragility and – according to their research paper in the latest issue of online science journal Chem – the researchers have managed to develop a synthetic version strong enough to withstand being pressed one million times during testing.