Why is cotton in everything? - Michael R. Stiff

Prevodilac: Aleksandar Bošnjak Lektor: Ivana Korom

Centuries ago, the Inca developed ingenuous suits of armor

Pre stotinu godina, Inke su razvile domišljate oklope

that could flex with the blows of sharp spears and maces,

koji su mogli da se saviju kada prime udarce koplja i buzdovana,

protecting warriors from even the fiercest physical attacks.

štiteći ratnike čak i od najžešćih fizičkih napada.

These hardy structures were made not from iron or steel,

Ove tvrde strukture nisu napravljenje od čelika ili gvožđa,

but rather something unexpectedly soft: cotton.

nego od nečeg neočekivano mekog, od pamuka.

These thickly woven, layered quilts of cotton

Ovi debelo tkani, slojeviti pamučni umeci

could distribute the energy from a blow across a large surface area,

su mogli da raspodele energiju udarca duž velike površine,

shielding warriors without restricting their mobility.

braneći ratnike bez ograničavanja njihove pokretljivosti.

These seemingly contradictory features—

Ove naizled kontradiktorne karakteristike,

strength and flexibility, softness and durability—

jačina i fleksibilnost, mekoća i istrajnost,

have their roots in the intricate biology of the nearly invisible cotton fiber.

potiču od zamršene biologije skoro nevidljivih pamučnih vlakana.

These fibers begin life deep within a cotton flower,

Ova vlakna počinju život duboko unutar cveta pamuka,

on the surface of a seed.

na površini semena.

As many as 16,000 fibers will festoon a single seed,

Jedno seme proizvodi čak 16.000 vlakana,

bulging from the seed’s surface like miniature water balloons.

ona izlaze iz povšine semena kao minijaturni baloni vode.

Each cotton fiber, no matter how large it grows,

Svako vlakno pamuka je, bez obzira koliko izraste,

is made of just one cell.

napravljeno od samo jedne ćelije.

That cell has multiple layers of cell wall.

Ta ćelija ima više slojeva ćelijskog zida.

After a few days, the sides of the first layer,

Nakon nekoliko dana, strane prvog sloja,

called the primary cell wall,

koje se zovu ćelije primarnog zida,

stiffen, pushing cell growth in one direction

se ukrućuju, terajući ćeliju da raste u jednom pravcu

and causing the fiber to elongate.

i uzrokuju da se vlakno izduži.

The fiber elongates quickly for about 16 days.

Vlakno se brzo izduži, za oko 16 dana.

Then it begins the next stage: strengthening the cell wall.

Onda počinje sledeća faza, ojačanje zida ćelije.

It does this by making more of the carbohydrate cellulose.

To radi tako što proizvodi više celuloze.

Cellulose will make up 34% of the cell wall at this stage

Celuloza čini 34 procenta ćelijskg zida u ovoj fazi

and swiftly increases.

i taj procenat se brzo povećava.

This new growth also reinforces the cell wall

Ovaj novi razvoj takođe ojačava zid ćelije

by going against the grain of the existing wall.

tako što se protivi zrnu postojećeg zida.

The strengthened wall is more rigid, restricting further growth.

Ojačani zid je krući, ograničavajući dalji rast.

That means if the fiber remodels its walls too early,

To znači da ako vlakno prepravi svoje zidove prerano,

it will be short,

biće kratko,

and ultimately make rough, weak fabrics.

i naposletku će stvoriti grubu, slabu tkaninu.

But if cell wall strengthening begins too late,

A ako jačanje zida ćelije počne prekasno,

the wall won’t be sturdy enough—

zid neće očvrsnuti dovoljno,

producing fibers that are too weak to hold fabrics together well.

i proizvodiće vlakna koja nisu dovoljno jaka da drže tkanine u celosti.

In ideal growing conditions—

U idealnim uslovima za rast,

with the right temperature, water, fertilizer, pest control, and light—

pri tačnoj temperaturi, sa vodom, đubrivom, deratizacijom i svetlom

a cotton fiber can grow up to 3.6 centimeters long

vlakno pamuka može da bude do 3,6 centimetara dugačko

with only a 25 micrometer width.

i sa širinom samo 25 mikrometara.

Long, fine fibers can wrap around one another

Dugačka, tanka vlakna mogu da se zamotaju jedno o drugo

better than shorter, less fine fibers,

bolje nego kraća, deblja vlakna,

which means those long, fine fibers make stronger threads

što znači da ona duga, tanka vlakna prave snažnije niti

that hang together better as fabric.

koje se drže bolje kao materijal.

Cotton with these qualities has diverse uses—

Pamuk sa ovakvim kvalitetima ima raznolike upotrebe,

from soft textiles to the U.S. dollar bill,

od meke tekstilne robe do novčanica za američki dolar,

which is 75% cotton.

koje sadže 75% pamuka.

The next crucial stage of the cotton fiber’s growth

Sledeća presudna faza rasta vlakna pamuka

begins as it thickens its secondary cell wall

počinje kad se zadeblja njegov sekundarni ćelijski zid,

by depositing large quantities of cellulose into the secondary layer.

tako što dostavlja velike količine celuloze u sekundarni sloj.

Cellulose goes on to make up over 90% of the fiber’s weight.

Celuloza tako čini preko 90% težine vlakna.

The more cellulose that gets deposited,

Što više celuloze bude dostavljeno,

the denser that secondary layer becomes—

to će taj sekundarni sloj postati gušći,

and this determines the strength of the final fiber.

a ovo određuje jačinu konačnog vlakna.

This stage is essential for developing long-lasting material

Ova faza je esencijalna za razvoj dugotrajnog materijala

for the likes of, say, a t-shirt.

kao na primer majice.

The garment’s capacity to withstand years of washing and wear

Sposobnost odeće da izdrži godine pranja i nošenja

is largely determined by the density of that secondary cell wall.

je u velikoj meri određena debljinom tog sekundarnog zida ćelije.

On the other hand,

S druge strane,

its softness is strongly influenced by the length of the fiber,

njegova mekoća je uslovljena dužinom vlakna,

established with the remodeling of the primary wall layer.

i zasniva se na prepravljanju primarnog zida ćelija.

Finally, after about 50 days, the fiber is fully grown.

Na kraju, nakon oko 50 dana, vlakno je potpuno naraslo.

The living matter within the cell dies off,

Živa materija unutar ćelije umire,

leaving behind only the cellulose.

ostavljajući za sobom samo celulozu.

The dried cotton seed pod, or boll, that surrounds the fibers cracks open,

Osušene ljuske semena pamuka, ili omotači, koje okružuju vlakna se otvaraju,

unveiling a burst of several thousand fiber cells in a fluffy mass.

i započinje raznošenje nekoliko hiljada ćelija vlakana u paperjastom obliku.

The thread-like fibers we see— thinner than a human hair—

Tanke niti vlakana koje vidimo su tanje su od ljudske kose,

are the remains of those dense, dried out walls of cellulose.

i ostaci onih gustih, osušenih zidova celuloze.

Tens of thousands of these fibers spun into yarn

Desetine hiljada ovih vlakana, koja su zavrtena u oblik prediva,

will go on to make everything from fabric, to coffee filters, diapers,

će se koristiti za pravljenje svega, od tkanine, do filtera za kafu, pelena

and fishing nets.

i mreža za pecanje.

And with the help of modern science,

I uz pomoć moderne nauke,

cotton might soon be softer, stronger, and more resilient than ever

pamuk možda uskoro bude mekši, snažniji, i izdržljiviji nego ikad

as researchers investigate how to optimize its growth

dok istraživači ispituju kako da optimizuju njegov rast

based on nutrients, weather conditions, and genetics.

na osnovu hranljivih sastojaka, vremenskih uslova i genetike.