Experiments to Make Self-Cooling Fabric

Kudos for covering a "failed" experiment the way you did! It emphasizes that an outcome is a valid outcome no matter if it was negative, positive, expected or unexpected. Imagine where the world would be if scientific papers were published like that. I think I might have to join your patreon just because of this. Keep up the excellent work!

As a chemist with years of experience in crystallography, synthetical as well as analytical: You are doing great! There are always so many variables, but you seem to have built a good intuition already. Respect. Maybe the poor performance is due to the geometry of the fiberes? Even If the spheres reflect the light, the probability of it getting absorbed in the 3d structure of the fabric is just too high.

As others have pointed out, the lack of radiative cooling might be due to the geometry of the cotton fibers at a microscopic level. The chance that heat radiated from the fibers will actually exit the cloth is much lower than the chance that the heat will get stuck in the cloth and continue to bounce around. I think all things considered it may be worth trying a fabric like Denim or Silk, which has a much tighter-nit structure at the microscopic level. It might also be worth trying to apply the solution to only one side of the fabric, as denim and silk both have flat faces compared to cotton, meaning it may be possible to apply the solution explicitly to the outside of the fabric.

"Even in the failures, we're learning things" That's what separates a non-satisfactory result from a true failure; if we learn anything then it's just an extra unanticipated step towards success. The process of making something interesting and useful with home-brew is already a great thing to share, and the extra effort of trying to make it easily accessible for the average-joe is on another level that I really appreciate.

Ben is showing how to do ACTUAL science on this channel. Excellent work!

Cotton fibers are single cells that get elongated and stretched inside the seed pods, so this is the reason why they look kinda like transparent plastic straws, or like transparent long tubular leafs of grass (which are multicelular, I'm just saying they look alike).

We're one step closer to the mythical pillow that's always cold on both sides. Keep up the good work, I salute you 🖖 EDIT: even if it didn't work as well as you hoped, I bet you find a way to fix it. If there's one thing I've learned from watching this channel, it's that it's never a good idea to underestimate NightHawkInLight!

This story is such a rollercoaster. I was on the edge of my seat. Emotionally engaged by a damn chemistry video! I actually said "Noooo!" out loud at the reveal of the last experiment. In my own headcanon, "Electricity Free Air Conditioning" is the first part of a trilogy. It brought such new hope. Could this finally be it? A (partial) solution to a warmer climate AND rising energy costs. Why isn't everybody using this already? It's so clever! Then came the highly anticipated sequel, "Experiments to Make Self-Cooling Fabric", or as I have come to think of it "The Entropy Strikes Back". It was glorious. Jam packed with excitement, drama, ups and downs, glimmers of hope swiftly dashed, and an ending with both a punch in the gut and a thrilling cliffhanger .With pounding heart, after the video finished, I had to calm myself down. Of course it was to be expected that our hero should face fierce resistance, that the forces of darkness (or in this case hotness) must seem almost insurmountable. It's basic storytelling practice, so don't sweat it. If I know anything, it's that the hero always wins in part three. Really looking forward to "Return of the Infrared Dye".

Don’t forget to link your other videos that you’re referencing! You’re the reason I joined patreon and I’m so proud of you. Your experiments are useful and interesting, and your processes are consistently well documented. Well worth crowdfunding.

I love this CaCO3 series, i'm in the last year of my chemistry masters and my project this year involves synthesising CaCO3 microspheres (vaterite) for drug delivery purposes. I'm hoping to apply for a PhD with my current supervisor and exploring new applications. This work is excellent and i'm looking forward to seeing more!

Your failures only show your successes to be that much more legitimate. In the world of sensationalism, your honesty is invaluable. Well done!

my wife has watched you for years and was raving i should check your channel. i think i will be raving about your channel more than she does. extremely impressive content. what an exceptional teacher. top notch sir!

Back in the 1970's or 80's I started seeing things that changed colors by temperature like mood rings and digital temperature strips for monitoring aquarium temperatures. If a roof/exterior could change to a dark color in winter and a lighter color in summer, it could make a big difference in heating and cooling a house.

This would be great for hardhats too. They trap heat and get very uncomfortable over time. Even if you had to reapply every now and again if it keeps my head cool it would be a game changer.

I've been watching for over a decade and I didn't even notice your videos getting longer. I'm always just so happy to be learning along with you.

I, for one, really enjoy the longer form videos that cover a full project story arc like this does. I appreciate that it may not attract as many views, but they are really enjoyable, satisfying and inspiring to watch. Thank you for sticking with it and not giving in to the algorithm.

As a Texan, I approve of this research. 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you so much for posting this to the public. You are a true hero!

This is phenomenal work and I do appreciate that you provide the "null" result - something most scientists don't even bother publishing. It honestly saves so much time for others as well so they don't think that they are crazy or just doing something wrong. The key here is that everything is transparent to IR if it is thin enough and the amount of reflection of visible light and near IR may be not sufficient with these coatings (given that you had quite thick paint layers earlier to get ultra white cooling effect). As someone who has actually tried and replicated your pigment recipes, I deeply appreciate the level of detail you are putting into this series and my last suggestion is to consider that perhaps the amount of energy lost to space/cooling effect is completely dominated by conduction/convection to the air in your chamber due to the massive surface area of the fabrics compared to the painted panels (so you just end up seeing near ambient temperatures). That is another factor beyond just the actual pigment properties - a complex question with multiple possible answers.

You are Absolutely my HERO!!! We all love you... Keep us Experimenting and Learning