War, soldiers, ammunition—what do all these remind us of? Fights, destruction and severe environmental degradation, right? Well, there is a piece of welcome news for us! The uniforms of US soldiers are actually going to be eco-friendly, being powered by solar energy.
An all-new high-tech fabric is to be used in order to incorporate the solar-powered batteries into the cloth of the soldiers’ uniforms. This technique, while meeting the power requirements of an average US soldier (88 AA batteries), would also go a considerable way towards decreasing the weight associated with such batteries.
According to the weekly news and information program, NPR’s Living On Earth, the threads of the uniforms would be made of battery electrodes and photovoltaic and fuel cells, and their thickness would be only a fraction of a human hair. Such threads, when stitched together, would make up a fabric with the capacity of capturing and storing solar energy as and when it would be worn by soldiers.
This unique concept of using solar energy, apart from cutting down on environmental degradation associated with wars, is also likely to be of help in everyday life. Living On Earth’s Mitra Taj says:
The new technology, might help in civilian life too, boosting efforts to make environmentally friendly power sources that multitask—imagine a jacket that keeps you warm while charging your cell phone.
The new and unique eco-friendly uniforms for US soldiers have been designed by researchers in Florida. It is indeed nice to see the same set of armed forces that had once used the notoriously environment-degrading herbicide and defoliant, Agent Orange, actually coming up with such uniforms for the soldiers that would indeed protect the environment.
Source:Takepart
