Design Inspiration of High-tech Swimsuits
The ocean is the origin of life on Earth, and it breeds countless magical and unique creatures. Speaking of sharks, everyone may tremble, thinking that it is a very ferocious animal that will attack humans. However, most sharks do not take the initiative to attack humans. We should regard them as ecological partners on the earth, rather than daunting monsters. Sharks are a very ancient fish. According to scientists' calculations, they have existed on the earth for more than 400 million years, earlier than the appearance of dinosaurs. Sharks are fast-swimming fish. Among them, the fastest swimming mako shark can reach a speed of 56 kilometers per hour, which is more than seven times the running speed of humans.
Sharks can be said to be absolute swimmers in the ocean. The reason why it can swim so fast is inseparable from its body structure. The body of the shark is spindle-shaped, and the surface of the skin is covered with a special layer of fish scales, that is, shield scales. The length of the shield scale is about 100 to 200 microns. There are three ridge-like protrusions on it, which are called ribs. Between the ribs are grooves with arc-shaped bottoms. The overall structure is similar to a symmetrical V-shaped structure. Does this rough skin help the swimming speed? Isn't the smoother the skin, the less resistance becomes, and the faster it can be? The truth is not what people imagine. Scientists have discovered that when a fluid flows at a high speed, the velocity and pressure on the surface of a smooth object will be severely unevenly distributed, resulting in greater resistance. In contrast, when scientists experimented with different shapes of grooved surfaces, it was finally found that the symmetrical V-shaped grooved surface had the best resistance effect.
Is it surprising? Because of this discovery, scientists began to imitate the structure of shark skin to produce bionic products with less surface resistance, and the most famous of which is the shark skin swimsuit. The Sharkskin swimsuit is made of ultra-stretch fiber, which is made based on the rough V-shaped structure of shark skin. Tests found that this swimsuit can reduce water resistance by 3%. In the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the Australian swimmer named Ian Thorpe wore this high-tech swimsuit. Like a shark advancing in the blue waves, he won three gold medals, which also made the Sharkskin swimsuit famous in the swimming world.
With technological innovation, sharkskin swimsuits are also constantly updated, with less surface resistance and faster speed. In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the famous American swimmer Phelps, who wore the fourth-generation Sharkskin swimsuit, won 8 gold medals alone.
Later, considering the fairness of the competition, FINA announced that it would ban the use of high-tech swimsuits from 2010. In addition to innovations in the field of competitive sports, shark skin bionics are also used in aviation, automobiles, ships, wind power and other fields. This special structure not only reduces resistance, but also reduces energy consumption, and has become one of the technologies that countries are vying to develop. Technological breakthroughs are certainly exciting, but we cannot ignore the reality of a sharp decline. Overfishing and the deterioration of the marine environment have made the living environment of sharks worse, and many species of sharks are on the verge of extinction. Protect the environment, and only if they survive better, innovation in the field of bionics can be better.
Sharks can be said to be absolute swimmers in the ocean. The reason why it can swim so fast is inseparable from its body structure. The body of the shark is spindle-shaped, and the surface of the skin is covered with a special layer of fish scales, that is, shield scales. The length of the shield scale is about 100 to 200 microns. There are three ridge-like protrusions on it, which are called ribs. Between the ribs are grooves with arc-shaped bottoms. The overall structure is similar to a symmetrical V-shaped structure. Does this rough skin help the swimming speed? Isn't the smoother the skin, the less resistance becomes, and the faster it can be? The truth is not what people imagine. Scientists have discovered that when a fluid flows at a high speed, the velocity and pressure on the surface of a smooth object will be severely unevenly distributed, resulting in greater resistance. In contrast, when scientists experimented with different shapes of grooved surfaces, it was finally found that the symmetrical V-shaped grooved surface had the best resistance effect.
Is it surprising? Because of this discovery, scientists began to imitate the structure of shark skin to produce bionic products with less surface resistance, and the most famous of which is the shark skin swimsuit. The Sharkskin swimsuit is made of ultra-stretch fiber, which is made based on the rough V-shaped structure of shark skin. Tests found that this swimsuit can reduce water resistance by 3%. In the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the Australian swimmer named Ian Thorpe wore this high-tech swimsuit. Like a shark advancing in the blue waves, he won three gold medals, which also made the Sharkskin swimsuit famous in the swimming world.
With technological innovation, sharkskin swimsuits are also constantly updated, with less surface resistance and faster speed. In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the famous American swimmer Phelps, who wore the fourth-generation Sharkskin swimsuit, won 8 gold medals alone.
Later, considering the fairness of the competition, FINA announced that it would ban the use of high-tech swimsuits from 2010. In addition to innovations in the field of competitive sports, shark skin bionics are also used in aviation, automobiles, ships, wind power and other fields. This special structure not only reduces resistance, but also reduces energy consumption, and has become one of the technologies that countries are vying to develop. Technological breakthroughs are certainly exciting, but we cannot ignore the reality of a sharp decline. Overfishing and the deterioration of the marine environment have made the living environment of sharks worse, and many species of sharks are on the verge of extinction. Protect the environment, and only if they survive better, innovation in the field of bionics can be better.
