Abstract
Abstract
Fibers are thin, flexible, and high length‐to‐width materials found in nature as well as by human invention. Fibers are differentiated from other forms of solid materials, such as films and powders, on the basis of their geometry. This article introduces fibers and fibrous materials and the underlying concepts that govern their structures, properties, manufacture, and utilization. For thousands of years of human history through the last century, fibers have been used mainly in constructing woven, nonwoven, and knitted textiles for clothing, home and interior furnishing, and papermaking. With the advent of organic chemistry, polymer syntheses, fiber spinning technologies, product conversion processing, and the ever‐increasing demands for better quality and specialty goods, the field of fibers and fibrous materials has evolved with far more advanced and wider product development strategies.