Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi, I have a Science fair coming in 15 days and I have decided to make a Ardiuno Breathing Monitor using this link - https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... %20Monitor
But I live outside States and I dont ave access to Conductive Rubber Cord as mentioned in the above link, I got other rubber cords which have spaces in them and many of them is used for industiral purposes, Can I use any alternative like a conductive rubber sheet maybe of width 1 mm more or less? Can you tell any specific requirement for conductive rubber required in this project. Please help me ASAP!!!!!!!

Hi - I tried conductive rubber sheets from Adafruit when designing this project, but I found that they ripped very easily when I inhaled deeply. What exactly do you mean by "conductive rubber cords with spaces in them" that are "used for industrial purposes"? As long as they stretch and change resistance, you may still be able to use them for your project.

Ultimately, you should be able to use any material that changes resistance enough when it stretches, as long as the material will contract back to its original length when you exhale. Another option (which I did not try) may be to weave something out of conductive thread, but I am not sure if it would contract back to its initial length.