Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
October 1999 Vol. 25, No. 10   RSS Feed for Undercurrent Issues
What's this?

A Wetsuit for All Seasons

from the October, 1999 issue of Undercurrent   Subscribe Now

The U.S. Navy is working on a unique way to keep its divers warm — a layer of foam containing bits of wax inside tiny plastic beads, each just a tenth the width of a human hair. These bits of wax melt and freeze as the temperature changes. While the diver is putting on the drysuit, the wax absorbs warmth from the diver’s body and melts. Then, when the diver slips into the icy waters, the wax freezes, radiating latent heat back to the diver.

To provide optimal warmth to the diver, the wax must melt at a temperature below that of bare skin — about 92° F. Similarly, the wax must freeze at temperatures as high as 65° F. to provide enough heat to the diver.

So far, the warming effect lasts for about the first half an hour or so of the dive. However, the Navy hopes to improve on that by packing more of the wax into the diving suit liner or weaving the beads into layers of synthetic fabric instead of foam. Another way to extend the warming capacity could be using a combination of waxes that freeze at different temperatures, so that heat is released gradually as the temperature drops.

The beads, which look like fine dust, can be placed inside fabric fibers by mixing them with the liquid polymers used to make artificial fibers.

Catherine Zandonella, New Scientist

I want to get all the stories! Tell me how I can become an Undercurrent Online Member and get online access to all the articles of Undercurrent as well as thousands of first hand reports on dive operations world-wide


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

cd