Abstract
ACCORDING to a theory of milling which was developed some years ago, fabrics are capable of undergoing milling shrinkage only when some or all of the component fibres possess a surface scale structure, are easily deformed, and show perfect recovery from deformation1. It should, therefore, be possible to make wool unshrinkable by modifying its elastic properties instead of by the customary method of attacking the surface-scale structure. The truth of this deduction has been established in a number of ways2,3,4. Perhaps the most convincing is the recent demonstration that woollen flannel can be made unshrinkable by treatment with mercuric acetate or benzoquinone4. Both reagents increase the resistance of the fibres to deformation; both increase the scaliness of the fibres, as measured in soap solution by means of the lepidometer5,6. In the light of these results it was concluded that mercuric acetate and benzoquinone make wool unshrinkable by modifying the elastic properties of the fibres, and not by attacking or masking the surface-scale structure.
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Dr. K. Budall, private communication.
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MENKART, J., SPEAKMAN, J. Scaliness of Wool Fibres. Nature 156, 143 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/156143a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/156143a0
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