An Outline of Some Fundamentals of Textile Physics

This paper attempts to discuss some of the fundamental phenomena underlying the physical analysis of textile materials as far as their mechanical properties are concerned. While the significant, mechanical terms used in physics and the engineering sciences have been found of practical value in other fields of applied physics such as electricity (the manufacture of electric cables) or mechanical engineering (wire rope), no full use of their potentialities has been made in textile research as yet. A discussion of some of the basic concepts is therefore, perhaps justified, particularly in view of the fact that textile materials are primarily physical materials. Such terms as tensile strength, percentage elongation, index of refraction, elasticity, etc., have been recognized for a long time in the textile industry. In the work with textile materials, an understanding of some of the physical phenomena underlyiny many textile problems will be found helpful.