| A | B |
|---|
| fiber | Usually composed of many filaments twisted or bonded together to form a thread or yarn |
| textile | A fabric woven in a distinctive pattern (although bonded textiles, such as felt, lack a pattern) |
| fabric | A cloth material made up of fibers woven or bonded together in a distinctive manner |
| filament | A single strand of material, usually twisted with other filaments to make a thread or fiber |
| inorganic | Refers to substances not composed primarily of hydrocarbons |
| yarn | A continuous strand of fibers or filaments, either twisted or not |
| warp | The lengthwise yarn or thread in a weave |
| weft or woof | The crosswise yarn or thread in a weave |
| blend | A fabric made up of two or more different types of fiber, usually as warp and weft |
| polymer | A molecule consisting of many identical repeating units. It can be naturally occurring or synthetic |
| polypeptide | A biochemical polymer formed by linking amino acids. The longer chains are called proteins |
| helix | A spiral arrangement of a long chain molecule |
| keratin | A tough protein polymer made up of about 20 different amino acids |
| plastic | A substance that will flow under heat and pressure; thus it can be molded into various shapes |
| viscosity | The resistance of a fluid to flow |
| homopolymer | A polymer consisting of only one type of repeating unit |
| polyether | A series of carbon atoms connected by oxygen atoms |
| density | A physical property of matter |
| Becke line | a halolike shadow appearing around an object immersed in a liquid of a different refractive index |
| flourescence | The absorption of light at one wavelength and its reemission at a longer wavelength |
| optical brighteners | Colorless dyes that cause blue light to be reflected, thereby making an object look whiter |
| chromatography | A method of separating components of mixtures based on preferential absorption or partitioning of components in a gas, liquid or solution |
| chromatogram | The record of chromatographic separation |
| elute | To extract one material from another, usually by means of a solvent |
| retention factor | A ratio used to characterize and compare components of samples in liquid chromatography |
