The diameter may range from about a ten millionth of a metre (0.1µm) for fine fibres to about a millimetre (1mm) for very coarse fibres. The length of fibres varies from a few millimetres to many thousand metres. Fibres are divided into two groups, staple fibres which have a relatively short length and continuous filaments which may be regarded as having almost infinite length.

(Left) Scanning electron micrograph of a Tactel^® microfibre filament around a human hair.

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