# Does Anyone Know of a Material That Deflects Heat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-a-material-that-deflects-heat/198147 "2003-08-28T06:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-a-material-that-deflects-heat/198147/1 "2003-08-28T06:35:07Z")
Ever since I gained a little weight, I have noticed the heat alot more. I know they have things like, e.g., odor eater socks to deal with odor. So what do the scientists have that is state-of-the-art to deal with **heat**? Is there a special material for this? Or while we’re at it, is there _any_ material on the market now that is supposed to be better at dealing with the heat? And, also, I heard on tv of this water-cooled suit this little boy had to wear, because he was born without sweat glands. I guess I probably won’t need something quite as dramatic as that. But just for completeness, does anyone know where you can get suit like that? I wasn’t sure if this was a GQ topic or not, so I put it here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Homer\_J.Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a698b9/32.png) [@Homer\_J.Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer_J.Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-a-material-that-deflects-heat/198147/2 "2003-08-28T08:05:10Z")
Doesn’t white reflect light? This should reflect some heat. I don’t think anything less than an air conditioned suit will lower ambient temperature. That or Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-a-material-that-deflects-heat/198147/3 "2003-08-28T08:10:07Z")
Most commonly available materials used for clothing are going to reflect your body heat _back to you_, of course. Take your clothes off. The Jesus AirConditioner only works on the Road to Hell. ---
**Author:** ![st1d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@st1d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/st1d)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-a-material-that-deflects-heat/198147/4 "2003-08-28T08:19:40Z")
That would probably be a tough one, at least getting something that would work perfectly. You might be able to get something that diffuses solar heat (white, as the last poster stated), but you’re still stuck with atmospheric heat, the kind that tends to be the most annoying. As far as suits go, it would be tough to engineer a set of clothes that would keep you cool without going to extremes like the watersuit. Assuming you wanted it to be the equvalent of a waterproof jacket, and assuming they could come up with a material that would have a cooling effect (remember, it’s not the heat, but the heat that you can’t get rid of that’s annoying), you’d have to tailor the materials to each person’s needs, the season, and so on. In other words, buying a suit on the rack might very well give you hypothermia if it’s set to draw more heat than your body needs to rid itself of. Best suggestion…if the extra weight is what causes the heat to bother you…lose the weight. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-a-material-that-deflects-heat/198147/5 "2003-08-28T12:45:09Z")
Tinfoil, of course.