Putting objects in space is expensive , and the heavier they are , the more it be . satellite for Earth Observation and Surveillance demand large dishes to maximize the radio wafture they can pile up . A team at Nottingham Trent University are taste to dissolve the lead conundrum by knitting themselves an ultralight orbiter .
“ Few people associate knitting with gamy - end space technology , ” pronounce project leadProfessor Tilak Diasin astatement . “ However due to the advancements in knitting technology we can now crumple an aerial which is passing lightweight , cost - effective and robust enough to stand firm solar radiation . ”
As any knitter can tell you , having the right material matters . In the case of the dishes Dias is designing , that material is gold - plated conducting wire less than 50 micrometers ( 0.002 in ) deep , thinner than most human hairs . The gold - metal plating offers trade protection against the irradiation of blank . Although gold is not clean , as the most pliant of all the elements , the plating can be so slight it summate very little to the scope ’s weight .
Knitting the wire into the shape of a parabolic phonograph record makes for less waste than alternative technique . As squad extremity Dr Will Hurleynoted : “ When you consider that entwine gilt wire can be hundreds of thousands of pounds per square metre , waste is something we have to be very mindful of . ” A knit engagement also has the flexibility to be fold up close during launch without price .
Mike Lawton , CEO of Oxford Space Systems who are collaborating on the work , state IFLScience dish of up to 25 meters ( 82 feet ) are require for spy agency to detect the weak escape of signal , while half that size is standard for Earth Observation .
This is not the only model of traditional cloth craft being pressed into the service of science .
TheHyperbolic Crochet Coral Reeflets volunteer crochet woolen models of coral . The project is popular in museums and art gallery and draws care to the dangers facing coral Witwatersrand worldwide , but has also help apply mathematical techniques to realise the shapes of genuine corals , and other nautical lifeforms , such as kelp and sea slugs . The work draws on mathematicians ' realization that crochet could be used to make models of hyperbolic space , and therefore help visualize it . establish by science communicator Margaret Wertheim and her sis Christine , it is now peradventure the largest artistic creation labor in the earth .
The Föhr Reef is part of the " Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef " labor exhibit in Tübingen ( Germany ) in the Museum of the Universitäty TübingenCC 3.0
