This material looks and feels like ordinary Lycra but is highly conductive. It can be cut into narrow strips to form conducting 'wires' or can be used as a soft compliant substitute for metal and foil in switches and sensors. Amazingly, its conductivity depends how tightly it is stretched so if you pull it, the resistance increases (and drops again when stretched very tightly). In a thin strip, the material also warms up when current is passed thus provides the basis of a heated garment or product such as a hat or gloves.

Application tips: Cut out a 25mm wide x 300mm long strip and experiment with simple circuits using crocodile clip leads to get a feel for it's practical applications. If you connect this strip to a 6V battery you will be able to feel an appreciable warming effect. Do not touch the wire directly!

• Supplied as 1 x 100 x 1450mm strip.
• Resistance = 5? per 100mm, increasing to 20? when stretched to 150mm in one axis but dropping to 2.5? when stretched at 90° to this.

(BEK and leads not included).