Sports clothing

What properties do you want from your swimming costume and why?

Objectives

To know some examples of smart materials used in fabrics and sport equipment.

To be able to explain the properties of some smart materials in terms of their structure.

Thinsulate vs cotton

Your teacher will run an experiment throughout the lesson

She will be measuring the time taken for water to cool when insulated by two different materials

The aim is to find out which material is the better insulator of heat

You task

Your task today is to do a web search to find out about different materials

Instructions for your task are found on the school website

The teacher will tell you where to find these

LycraTM

Which sports might use LycraTM? Cyclists, sprinters, swimmers, gymnasts.

What sort of group of materials does it fit into? Artificial fibre, polymer, plastic.

Why is LycraTM a useful material for sports clothing? Stretches more than rubber and is more

resistant making it comfortable. Doesn’t get damaged by sweat or sun. Reduces friction.

ThinsulateTM

Which sports might use ThinsulateTM? Hikers, mountain climbers.

What sort of group of materials does it fit into? Artificial fibre, polymer, plastic,

polypropene fibres. Why is ThinsulateTM a useful

material for extreme cold temperatures? Very thin fibres trap air. The

fibres reflect body heat back in and stop radiation of energy out. Light weight.

GortexTM

Which sports might use GortexTM? Yachtsman.

What sort of group of materials does it fit into? Composite.

Why is GortexTM breathable? A plastic layer with millions of small holes is the

filling in a sandwich of fabric. The tiny water molecules in your evaporated sweat can pass through but rain drops are too big.

Plenary1. What material would you

recommend a down hill speed skier to wear?

2. Would it be different to a recreational skier?