Between me and Snarkmarket, we've got the Google market on the phrase "nanofabric scarves" cornered, and I intend to keep staking out the web-mention territory of electronically empowered clothing. Thanks to Engadget, we are no longer limited to discussing decorative diaphanous drapes, but can ponder more substantially sartorial matters of technological convergence: Karen Epper Hoffman at the MIT Tech Review informs us of NanoSonic's new Metal Rubber.
"Besides its conductivity and flexibility, it's much lighter than metal, weighing less than one percent of its steel equivalent. And when produced in large quantities, [Company President Dr. Rick Claus] expects Metal Rubber will be about one-thousandth the price of a comparable all-metal conductor. . . Beyond its potential applications in aerospace and defense, Lalli sees opportunities for the material to be used in biomedical devices, artificial muscles, and electronic displays. Claus envisions the material being used for handheld electronics, prostheses, toys, or in any product or device where "you would need a flexible interconnect that has good electrical conductivity.""Clearly Claus and the company's director of nanocomposites, Dr. Jennifer Lalli, need to start thinking about WiFi and BluTooth enabled gloves that enable you to point to things in your house and make stuff happen. Their company, Nanosonic, is based in Blacksburg, VA, and is affiliated with Virginia Tech. They describe Metal Rubber as being a self-assembled nanocomposite, and elsewhere on their site they have a very cute animation showing the gist of how self-assembly works.
