Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Spyder Olympic GS Suit With d3o
The Spyder Olympic GS suit has been completely redesigned in time for the Vancouver Olympics to give athletes the cutting-edge advantage they need. The suit contains 3 innovations that will improve the suit’s aerodynamics and (hopefully!) result in time gains for the Athletes using the suits, including a new kind of d3o™.
d3o is a complex elastomeric compound discovered at the University of Hertfordshire. A shear thickening material, it is flexible when moved slowly, but when it is compresssed by an impact, its molecules lock together. The material stiffens, spreading the impact over a greater area.
(Syder Olympic GS Suit With d3o)
Spyder refined the surface texture on the top face knit, reducing the co-efficient of friction against wind. The new slippery surface has less texture than past fabrics, and was tested in wind tunnels to shave off precious hundredths of seconds from racers’ times, a margin by which many ski races are won and lost.At d3o™, our chemists worked in the lab to create a new formulation of d3o™ to enable the design of a much thinner pad that still performs to the high level needed by the athletes on impact. For those who don’t know, d3o™’s intelligent molecules flow under normal movement, but lock together on impact to spread the force. By reducing the pad volume by 40%, the suit system is more aerodynamic due to its lower profile and a lack of abrupt edges, which can “catch” wind.
Finally, Spyder moved the d3o™ pads from their slalom and GS suits to a separate under layer in order to reduce the amount of thread, seams and needle holes on the outside fabric, all of which can contribute to wind friction.
This d30-based suit is a real-life impact suit like the one described by David Gerrold and Larry Niven in their 1971 novel The Flying Sorcerors:
"It was my impact suit," Purple said. He took a step forward and thumped himself hard in the belly with this fist. His belly was big and soft, so the blow should have made him wince. It did not. I thought for a moment that Purple had become rigid as stone."My impact suit," he repeated. "Normally it flows like cloth, but under a sharp blow it becomes a single rigid unit. Lant, you remember that a boy threw a spear at me in your village."
"I remember. You were not hurt."
"The suit is skin tight. With the hood up it covers all of me but my eyes and mouth, and of course it holds my shape. It saved my life."
(Read more about the impact suit)
Take a look at another d3o product - the Flexible-Rigid Beanie-Helmet For Snowsports.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/1/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Clothing ")
Rigid Metallic Clothing From Science Fiction To You
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1932.
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...' - Margaret St. Clair, 1949.
Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Exoskeleton Pants
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.' - Edmond Hamilon, 1930.
Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...' - Harry Harrison, 1965
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Moscow Attacked By Hundreds Of Drones
'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'
Nifty Folding Electric Bicycles!
'Separate paths were provided for them...'
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'
Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Garçon! A Menu For Artemis II, S'il Vous Plaît
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.'
Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.
Rogue AI Replicated Itself
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'
HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
When AI Takes Its First Breath
Any suggestions?
Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
Daytime version.
The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel
'If you surf over a bump, the spokes contract to roll over it.'
