Fiber

Name:
Fiber
Detailed information:
A fundamental form of solid (usually crystalline) characterized by relatively high tenacity and an extremely high ratio of length to diameter (several hundred to one). Natural fibers are animal, e.g., wool and silk (proteins), vegetable, e.g., cotton (cellulose), and mineral (asbestos). Cotton fiber is called staple and rarely exceeds 2 inches in length.Semisynthetic fibers include rayon and inorganic substances extruded in fibrous form, such as glass, boron, boron carbide, boron nitride, carbon, graphite, aluminum silicate, fused silica, and some metals (steel). Synthetic fibers are made from high polymers (polyamides, polyesters, acrylics, and polyolefins) by extruding from spinnerettes (nylon, “Orlon,” etc.). Some are being used in specialty papers, though the primary use is in textile fabrics. See “Fiberfrax” [Carborundum]Metal fibers are used in several ways: (1) As whiskers, which are single-crystal fibers up to 2 inches long having extremely high tensile strength; they are made from tungsten, cobalt, tantalum, and other metals and are used largely in composite structures for specialized functions. (2) As filaments, which are alloys drawn through diamond dies to diameters as small as 0.002Cm; steel for tire cord and antistatic devices has been developed for such applications. (3) In biconstituent structures composed of a metal and a polymeric material; for example, aluminum filament covered with cellulose acetate butyrate. Hollow fibers of cellulose acetate and nylon are used as membranes in the reverse osmosis method of water purification. See Filament; Denier; Whiskers; Glass Fiber.