Wool

Wool, animal fiber that forms the fleece, or protective coat, of sheep. Coarser than most vegetable or synthetic fibers, wool fibers are wavy and vary in color from the usual white to brown or black. Wool is composed of the protein keratin, whose molecules are long, coiled chains, giving wool elasticity and resilience. Reactive side groups result in good affinity for dyes and enable new, desirable properties to be chemically imparted. Wool lasts if well cared for but is liable to be damaged by some insect larvae (which eat it), by heat, sunlight, alkalis, and hot water. It chars and smolders when burned but is not inflammable. Wool strongly absorbs moisture from the air. It is weakened when wet and liable to form felt if mechanically agitated in water. Wool has been used since ancient times to make cloth. Sheep are shorn, usually annually, and the fleeces are cleaned—the wool wax removed is the source of lanolin—and sorted, blended, carded (which disentangles the fibers and removes any foreign bodies), and combed if necessary to remove shorter fibers. A rope of woolen fibers (roving) is thus produced and is spun. The woolen yarn is woven into cloth, knitted, or made into carpets or blankets. The main wool-producing countries are Australia, New Zealand, the USSR, and India. Because the supply of new (virgin) wool is inadequate, some textiles are made of reprocessed wool.