Product

As someone who shifts environments often, I find that my big heavy coat, which is perfect for outings to downtown Pittsburgh, is more of a sweaty nuisance when I wear it (or inevitably have to carry it in a large jumble) in academic buildings. Knowing that air is an insulator, I wanted to see if I could apply the expanding bubbles to coats. 

My idea is that if the environmental temperature dipped below freezing, the circuit would be activated to begin the inflation process. From then on, the circuit would keep the bubbles steadily at the boiling point until the environmental temperature went above freezing again. The bubbles allow extra space for air to get in and insulate the wearer from the elements.

The coat would be stitched in a way that allows space for the bubbles to expand, but otherwise can lie more-or-less flat when not inflated. I saw that nylon and down were common winter coat materials. Since down is a good insulator, I also thought it would be good to include it as a layer between the circuit and the body in case the circuit gets too hot. 

The liquid for expansion would be alcohol since this has a boiling point that is close to the temperature of the body and therefore would boil more quickly than other materials and at a comfortable temperature for users.