Do you want an immediate cool-down after a workout on a hot day? Maybe you’re one of those people who fluctuates between hot and cold while you sleep. Don’t you wish you could just regulate your temperature in seconds?
Thanks to some new T-shirt technology, your wish might come true.
A team of Chinese researchers just developed a new fabric they called Janus, which can be hot or cold depending on which side is exposed. That’s right, if you get cold, turn your shirt inside out and it will heat up, and vice versa.
According to Fast Company, one side of the Janus shirt reflects the sun, keeping the wearer 11 degrees cooler than they’d be in a regular white shirt. The other side traps solar radiation against your skin, and keeps you 14 degrees warmer than you’d be in a regular black shirt.
The shirt is made of “layers of polymer and cotton fibers, engineered with special structures and coatings. The sandwich structure is asymmetrical by design, so that it can be flipped into warm and cool modes.”
The fabric on the warm side of the shirt is coated in zinc and copper nanoparticles, which are good at absorbing and storing solar energy. Essentially, it works like a solar panel that heats up your body. It even works at night, warming your skin by 5 degrees.
The “cool” side is made of fabric coated in aluminum, which reflects light away. According to Fast Company, this side is also porous, which allows steam to evaporate, rather than drenching your shirt.
The wildest part of this is that the researchers believe the shirts can produce electricity through a thermoelectric generator, opening the door to even more wearable tech capabilities in the future.
The researchers claim that the shirt is machine washable, making it pretty inviting for the average consumer. If it were to hit the market and eventually make it to promo, it could be a great branded giveaway for places like gyms, outdoor music festivals or events like 5K runs.
