The third lecture in the fibre science series dealt chiefly with fiber formation theories. These theories are discussed in Physical Properties of Textile Fibres from page 25-32. Another excellent resource to study these theories is the macrogalleria’s crystallinity page.
I had mentioned in my previous notes that this lecture will primarily comprise of material from the first 37 pages of Physical Properties of Textile Fibres.
During these lectures, there will be a reasonable amount of meandering as the complexity in the subject matter will force us to look back at matter discussed in previous discussions. There is absolutely no harm in this, as long as the general progress is forward and a sound understanding of fundamental concepts is developed.
This introductory lecture is meant to bring the class to a common wavelength so future understanding of the course is built on coherent concepts. Fibres, are defined by the Textile Institute as units of matter characterized by flexibility, fineness and a high ratio of length to thickness (refer to Textile Terms and Definitions).
Thus by the definition lots of things, wires, muscle fibres, wood fibres fit into this category. However, not all of them are suited for use as textiles. When considering textiles there are some other properties that come into play. For instance, a minimum breaking strength may be required, some degree of thermal stability and extensibility may be needed for a fiber to be of any use.
With advancements in technology fibers and fiber science are reaching new frontiers. The development of electro-spinning for instance, enabling the spinning of extremely fine fibers with thicknesses of a few 10s to 100 nanometers has paved way to many previously non conceivable materials to be used as fibres. Materials like carbon nanotubes, used as high strength, light weight, reinforcement for a variety of applications and ceramic fibres developed into electro-spun non woven material are examples of such developments.
I could say that this website is an initiative to facilitate knowledge transfer at the Textile Institute of Pakistan and so on and so forth. But I’d rather make it simpler and more straight forward.
This website is actually just a means to make and a lot of people’s lives easier by providing online resources so that the need for photocopies on campus is reduced and valuable time isn’t wasted waiting in queues, rather muscling through hordes of people, to reach the overburdened reprographer.
I intend to develop this site as we progress with the course. The notes posted will be there to supplement the lectures and class presentations and will provide students with directions towards supporting material. Comments of course are most welcome to generate discussion.
