Researchers from MIT have figured out a way to let NAVY SEALs and other deep sea divers survive in cold waters for twice as long as is currently possible. They did this by creating an Artificial Blubber of sorts to surround the divers, replacing the air in their wetsuits with a heavy gas.
According to Futurism, “The material used to construct most standard wetsuits is neoprene, a synthetic rubber that resembles a dense foam with lots of little air pockets. These air pockets help slow the transfer of heat from your body into the colder water surrounding you.
The MIT researchers realized that replacing the air in the neoprene holes with a heavy inert gas, specifically xenon or krypton, slowed the transfer even more. Instead of surviving less than one hour in 10 degree Celsius (50 degree Fahrenheit) water, a person could survive two to three hours.”
This breakthrough could also lead to designing wetsuits that are thinner and even easier to move around in. The implication being that this technology could have military applications or could lead to saving more lives on civilian rescue missions. It’s also possible that the technology could get refined even further as alternate gases are tested.
Is an Artificial Blubber the Greatest Idea Ever?
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