Physics Buzz

If you weren’t at the Science Museum in London on Wednesday night, here’s some of what you missed… Image Credit:  Science Museum/Barry MacDonald Image Credit:  Science Museum/Barry MacDonald Image Credit: Science Museum/Barry MacDonald Couture in Orbit was a high-fashion show inspired by high tech. A welcome by ESA astronaut Tim Peake beamed from the International Space Station set an appropriately space-themed atmosphere before models took futurist designs to the runway. Their unique clothes incorporated of state-of-the-art materials technology—wearable sensors that track movement, fabric made from recycled water bottles, materials that are highly insulating, absorbent, and reflective, and other high performance and smart fabrics . The designers were students at top fashion schools in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. These countries were chosen because Couture in Orbit highlighted the 2014-2016 International Space Station ( ISS ) missions of five European

“Spider-Man, Thor, the Hulk, the X-Men. . . Okay, so I’ve created a whole caboodle of superheroes. But the important thing is, now it’s your turn.” —Stan Lee

Runners using aluminum blankets to keep warm. Credit: Adapted from Ian Hunter | flickr If you've ever stood exposed and shivering at the end of a run, you'll know just how quickly the body loses heat without protective clothing. To prevent this, aluminized plastic blankets are a common sight at the end of races; they insulate from cold air and reflect back the body's heat. But these blankets are impractical and uncomfortable for daily use, trapping in moisture as well as heat.  Using some basic principles of radiation reflection and a coating of silver nanowires, physicists have now developed a new type fabric which can keep you toasty warm and comfortable. So warm in fact that the authors think their insulating fabric could be a solution to the large amounts greenhouse gases created by wintertime indoor heating.