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Theoretically, could a jacket made of a hard material (resistant to water for 50 years minimum) perforated with nano-particle size holes be both breathable and
by bryanmgreen 7y ago
Theoretically, could a jacket made of a hard material (resistant to water for 50 years minimum) perforated with nano-particle size holes be both breathable and highly water-resistant?
- amluto 7y agoThe surface needs to be hydrophobic, too. Otherwise, when the outside gets soaked, holes will be blocked. Presumably it also needs to be thin so the holes aren’t too deep. At this point, you more or less have a textile. A piece of aluminum foil isn’t going to make a great jacket.
- snowwrestler 7y agoThis is basically what expanded PTFE membranes are. PTFE is hard, durably waterproof stuff; stretching it out creates the tiny holes that permit breathability.
- wiml 7y agoAs far as I know, that's what all the breathable fabrics are. GoreTex ís PTFE (teflon™) with microscopic pores, originally developed for uranium refining; PTFE is soft, so it's usually combined with a nylon shell. Tyvek comes in many varieties, one of which is a waterproof+breathable version; it's polyethylene fiber pressed into a porous felt-like sheet.