The system developed by Xeros, a spin-off from the University of Leeds, in England, uses thousands of tiny nylon beads each measuring a few millimetres across. These are placed inside the smaller of two concentric drums along with the dirty laundry, a squirt of detergent and a little water. As the drums rotate, the water wets the clothes and the detergent gets to work loosening the dirt. Then the nylon beads mop it up.
該系統(tǒng)由一家附屬于英國利茲大學(xué)名叫Xeros的公司負(fù)責(zé)開發(fā)，系統(tǒng)內(nèi)含數(shù)以千計(jì)的直徑只有幾毫米的小尼龍珠。將這些尼龍珠、臟衣服、少許洗滌劑和水，一起放進(jìn)小型的雙層同軸滾筒后。滾筒轉(zhuǎn)動時，水浸濕衣物，洗滌劑讓污漬松脫，然后尼龍珠就會吸附污漬。
The crystalline structure of the beads endows the surface of each with an electrical charge that attracts dirt. When the beads are heated in humid conditions to the temperature at which they switch from a crystalline to an amorphous structure, the dirt is drawn into the core of the bead, where it remains locked in place.
尼龍珠的晶體結(jié)構(gòu)會讓表面生成靜電并吸附污垢。當(dāng)珠子在潮濕的環(huán)境中被加熱到一定溫度時，會從晶體結(jié)構(gòu)轉(zhuǎn)換為非結(jié)晶結(jié)構(gòu)。此時污垢會被吸入，并被鎖定在尼龍珠的內(nèi)核中。