Clothing made of several thin layers of fabric with trapped air in between, often called ski clothing, is commonly used in cold climates because it is light, fashionable, and a very effective thermal insulator. So it is no surprise that such clothing has largely replaced thick and heavy old-fashioned coats.

Consider a jacket made of five layers of 0.1-mm-thick synthetic fabric (k = 0.13 W/m·K) with 1.5-mm-thick air space (k = 0.026 W/m·K) between the layers. Assuming the inner surface temperature of the jacket to be 28°C and the surface area to be 1.25 m², determine the rate of heat loss through the jacket when the temperature of the outdoors is 0°C and the heat transfer coefficient at the outer surface is 25 W/m²·K.

What would your response be if the jacket is made of a single layer of 0.5-mm-thick synthetic fabric? What should be the thickness of a wool fabric (k = 0.035 W/m·K) if the person is to achieve the same level of thermal comfort wearing a thick wool coat instead of a five-layer ski jacket?