Cotton
Cotton, as a natural cellulose fiber (between 87 - 90° cellulose, 5-8% water, remainder is natural impurities=, has a lot of characteristics such as:
- comfortable soft hand
- good absorbency
- colour retention
- prints well
- easy to handle and sew
- maschine-washable
- dry-cleanable
- good strength
- drapes well
PROPERTIES OF COTTON
| Specific weight | 1.54 |
| Tenacity | 3.0 - 4.9 g/d whereas cotton is up to 20% stronger when wet |
| Elasticity | relatively low |
| Absorbency | 7-8% at standard conditions |
| Birebrigence | 0.046 |
| Dielectric constant | 3.9 - 7.5 |
| Resistivity | order of 10^9 ohm/cm^3 |
| Micronaire | 2.0 - 6.5 (upland cotton) |
| Denier | 0.7 - 2.3 (upland cotton) |
| Length | 0.9 - 1.2 inches (upland cotton) |
| Diamter | 9.77 - 27.26 |
| Fiction coefficient | 0.25 (for raw cotton, strongly changes when wet or treated) |
| Thermal properties | Decomposition at 300°F |