Viewed under a microscope, mask fabrics are complex, varied and beautiful.

View as a Web Page Masks Under the Microscope To understand how something works, it helps to see it up close. A team of researchers took this approach when studying the fabric masks that people wear to slow the spread of COVID-19. Those masks work by blocking some of the virus-filled droplets and smaller particles, called aerosols, that an infected person exhales, and they also offer some protection to the wearer by filtering incoming air. The researchers wanted to know how well different fabrics filter out those particles and what makes some fabrics better filters than others. As part of this research, one team member, Edward Vicenzi, used a scanning electron microscope to examine the fabrics up close. Vicenzi works at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute, where he studies the history and origin of objects in the museums' collection. He is also a visiting researcher at NIST. His images gave the scientists important insights into the particle-filtering properties of different fabrics. And they can give us all a sense of the beautiful, textured, woven world right in front of our faces. See More IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Study Indicates That Humidity in Breath Makes Cotton Masks More Effective at Slowing the Spread of COVID-19 Cotton fabrics become better filters when exposed to humid conditions. Synthetic fabrics do not. Read More

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