The question was not whether or not wetsuits float. Instead it was whether or not the new swimsuits float.
A wetsuit is made a neoprene closed cell foam. It is designed to trap air for temperature insulation. It will also float in varying degrees depending on the thickness of the neoprene.
The new suits are typically made of lycra-like material coated with a rubber-like film. The coating is not closed cell foam.
As a technical matter, neoprene has a specific gravity ranging between about 1.25 and 1.60 (www.zenithrubber.com/.../chloroprene.htm). By definition of specific gravity, this means that neoprene is denser than water and hence will not float. The material that is used in wet suits is not just neoprene but neoprene with trapped air to reduce the specific gravity so that the modified material can float. Technical suits made of primitive neoprene cannot float on account of that composition alone, that is, without the addition of trapped air in the fabric.
Natural rubber, on the other hand, has a specific gravity www.molders.com/rubber_engineering_guide.html) and, hence, will float. Suits made of combinations of this material or similar materials, in combination with other fabrics will have a tendency to float.
The question was not whether or not wetsuits float. Instead it was whether or not the new swimsuits float.
A wetsuit is made a neoprene closed cell foam. It is designed to trap air for temperature insulation. It will also float in varying degrees depending on the thickness of the neoprene.
The new suits are typically made of lycra-like material coated with a rubber-like film. The coating is not closed cell foam.
As a technical matter, neoprene has a specific gravity ranging between about 1.25 and 1.60 (www.zenithrubber.com/.../chloroprene.htm). By definition of specific gravity, this means that neoprene is denser than water and hence will not float. The material that is used in wet suits is not just neoprene but neoprene with trapped air to reduce the specific gravity so that the modified material can float. Technical suits made of primitive neoprene cannot float on account of that composition alone, that is, without the addition of trapped air in the fabric.
Natural rubber, on the other hand, has a specific gravity www.molders.com/rubber_engineering_guide.html) and, hence, will float. Suits made of combinations of this material or similar materials, in combination with other fabrics will have a tendency to float.
