Evening star., 1941-06-03
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory. Field
And Study
Bu Thomas r. Henri.

A moth-resistant wool, more resistant
to shrinkage than ordinary wool, which
holds up better under laundering, and
which is far more immune to the action
of bacteria and engines which often
cause decay of wool fabrics, has been
developed in the Textile Foundation re-
search laboratories at the National
Bureau of Standards.
This has been accomplished, 1t is ex-
planned by DR.. Milton Harris, director
of the laboratories of the foundation, by
tearing apart portions of the wool mole
cule-using relatively simple chemical
processes, the details of which are still
the changes are made, they are perma-
nent, and kind of cloth hitherto un-
known in the world is produced. 1t
retains all the good qualities of wool,
and in addition, has the decided ad-
vantages mentioned above.
Wool, DR.. Harris explained, has a
curious molecular structure. The basic
molecule is long chain fibrous mole
cule made up of much the same ma
terials found in other proteins-skin,
muscle, egg albumin, etc. These long
chains are joined by tcross-links of the
amino acid known as cystine, a sulfur-
containing substance essential to life, to
form a sort of a network structure.
These cross links hold the protein mole
culeS together in such form that they
are not ordinarily digestible. If one
breaks the cross-links by suitable means
wool is readily digested.
1t so happens that the moth is cap
able of splitting these links and for
that reason loves and grows fat on
wool. The Textile Foundation chem
lists have now succeeded in replacing
these rather weak cross-links with far
more stable links and so the moths are
unable to digest the wool. In order to
do this it is first necessary to break
the original links. When this is done,
by the way, piece of wool probably
would be edible, the Textile Founda-
ton chemists believe, although they
have not tried it. BY inserting the new
links, the original nature and desirable
features of the wool are restored and
1t would be impossible to find any diff
ference, except by chemical analysis and
the obviously improved qualities.
One Of the most valuable of these is
moth-resistance. Moth-resistant woods
have been sold in the past but they
have been produced by impregnating
the substance with some moth poison
or repellant. Many of these are quite
efficient while they last, but are usually
removed during repeated washing or
dry cleaning. The new wool contains
nothing poisonous and its qualities are
permanent. 1t becomes something a
moth cannot eat any more than
human being can eat ordinary wool.
Since the new links are more stable
than those in ordinary wool, the new
wool stands up much better in launder-
ing. Care must be used in washing
ordinary wool garments since they can
be readily damaged by boiling water
or alkalies. The new wool is not dam
aged under these conditions, and so it
may be expected that a wooden shirt or
pair of socks could be thrown in the
tub with the rest of the family wash
One of the features of the process is
that it does not appreciably alter the
elastic properties of the fiber. This is
extremely important because this elias
ITCHY is responsible for the fact that a
wool suit holds its shape. 1t is also
responsible for wool blanket being fuf-
fy and full of air-pockets. The latter
impart to the fabric its "warmness." If
the fiber is not elastic, the fabric mats
down and there is little room for air
pockets, thus decreasing the warm
ness of the material.
The nature of the chemicals used and
the methods for rebuilding the wool
molecules are not disclosed as yet be-
cause the process must first be applied
in the textile mill So far, the new wool
has only been prepared on the small
laboratory experimental scale.