Question

What are natural fibers? How are they classified?

Answer 1

Hint: We know that the natural fibers can be considered as those fibers which are extracted from the natural sources like animals, plants etc. Natural fibers may also be matted into sheets of paper or felt. We can use it as a part of composite materials, where fiber orientation is affecting properties.

Complete answer:
As we know that fibers are substances that have immense applications in our day-today life. It has many types but has only two broad classifications as natural fibers and synthetic fibers.
Synthetic fibers are more durable than most natural fibers and will readily pick-up different dyes. In addition, many synthetic fibers offer consumer-friendly features such as stretching, waterproofing and stain resistance. Sunlight, moisture, and human skin oils cause all the fibers to disintegrate and wear away. They are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms. They are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve natural animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are produced by the extrusion of fiber-forming materials through spinnerets, which form a fiber. They are called synthetic or artificial
Natural fibers may be used for high-tech applications, for instance automotive composite components. Compared to glass fiber reinforced composites, natural fiber composites have advantages such as lower density, better thermal insulation and reduced skin irritation. The long, thin and flexible thread-like structures are known as fibers which have many types in themselves. But on the basis of origin, they can be classified as Natural fibers (from plants and animals). Wool is a textile fiber made from sheep and other animals, including cashmere and mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, hide and fur clothing made from bison, angora from rabbits, and other types of camelid wool. Wool is made of protein and a small percentage of lipids.

Note:
Remember that the synthetic fibers are cheaper and can be obtained in larger amounts but they are slowly harming nature in many different ways. Also, using natural fibers require a large amount of potential and are very costly as compared to man-made fibers.