How Does the Super Speedo Swimsuit Work?
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Fluid Dynamics
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In order to understand how the Speedo LZR Racer works, one must know a bit about fluid dynamics and swimming. When someone swims, she is moving her own body through water. Water has a certain density, which gives it a high resistance, making it difficult to move through. The reason it's difficult to move through is because the water resists anything it comes in contact with, be that a leg, an arm or even a stray hair. The goal of the LZR is to shape the body and make it more sleek in the water.
Development
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The process of developing the swimsuit started with the fabric. Speedo tested 60 different types of fabric before settling on its LZR Pulse technology. Tests included using a NASA air tunnel to calculate the air resistance on each type of fabric and using a water flume at the University of Otago in New Zealand to find the passive drag of the various suits and fabrics, along with trying to find the proper suit to fit the water conditions of certain events. In addition to these, Speedo used computer fluid dynamics models to test the suit and test the movements of a body wearing the suit in different water conditions.
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How It Works
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The LZR Racer uses a few different techniques to make a swimmer move faster. The fabric, called LZR Pulse, is extremely water resistant, but is still lightweight and strong. It also allows the swimmer's body to breathe and sweat without getting weighed down. It's designed with panels in certain larger places on a swimmer's body (chest, stomach, thighs) to compress and streamline the body. The midsection has a built-in corset to help the swimmer maintain the least resistant position possible. Finally, the seams of the suit are ultrasonically welded together, and the zipper bonded to the suit. All of these characteristics working together help create the fastest, and most dynamic, swimsuit in existence.
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