How Do Wetsuits Keep You Warm?

Snorkelers, surfers, divers. They all use them… wetsuits! So how do they work to keep you warm? It turns out layers of materials, and water itself!

Hosted by: Olivia Gordon
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[holestdrillpresschannel]

I'll be back to watch how warmsuits keep me wet.

[CharxGaming]

Fun fact, if you decide to pee in a wet suit, the pee might dissapear, the smell however....

[nathanseward]

man, she is much better than she used to do. I like her now... she's not as good as Michael, but still pretty good

[MrCyanGaming]

If you're reading this, have a Great day! 😄😄😄

[ibanera]

hope you read this. It's been amazing to watchOlivia during the episodes. An amazing change and it is fun to watch. She seem much more relaxed and natural now. keep up the good work :D

[GBart]

I kept thinking she was asking a question? Because every sentence ended with an upward inflection?

[jkramer]

I did some water survival training that explored this concept. We were in a cold pool that simulated being stuck at sea. We put opened normal trash bags and pulled them over our feet and tucked ourselves in with our heads and floatation devices above the surface of the water.

Our bodies heat the water around us like you said. They are always heating this water. But the open water moves so the water we just heated is no longer next to us.


When we isolate the heated water next to our body, it does keep us warm.


Also, piss like that one guy said.

[chowtom]

"Mommy why's there a polar bear surfing"

[erkdoc]

I have a bit more to add to this. The reason neoprene is chosen is for its thermal diffusivity instead of its thermal conductivity. Thermal diffusivity has to do with how long it takes transient heat to move through the material. This is why you use charts with wetsuits to determine how long you can be in the water if the water is at a certain temperature. As opposed to a house insulation, which is chosen for thermal conductivity which limits steady state heat flow. Both of these are methods of limiting conductive heat flow.
The metal layer in some suits would be for limiting radiation heat flow, but wouldn't help limit the conductive heat flow. I don't think radiation heat flow is as affected by transient states as conductive heat flow, so that part probably doesn't need to be factored in.

[Ntmoffi]

I thought that was a molar in the thumbnail.

[jbglaw]

Hey Olivia, thanks for presenting this topic! I'm not a diver, and I already knew in principle how this works. Though I learned something new: the heat-reflecting metal layer. Sure that makes sense, like these rescue plastic film blankets (don't know how they're actually named in English) work.

Also, I'd like to state there's nothing wrong with how you present a topic. That's your show, your rules, so don't give much on hater's opinions. You're doing it great as a host, and I really appreciate the work of your whole team. It's great work!

[CorwynGC]

Animation of air and water molecules has many errors. SciShow should do better.

[ganaraminukshuk]

I saw the thumbnail and thought it was some sort of messed-up tooth with a heat gradient on the top part.

[scarletlightning]

"Skin-tight sopping wet onesie" So much LOL :D

[RomeoMike]

why do tyres have those hairs on the side?

[phantasm]

Can you please do one on cerebral aneurysms? I had one rupture at 19 and would love to learn more!

[feralcatgirl]

i can't believe they're gonna merge all future swimming competitions with furry conventions

[gilly_axolotl]

This channel is basically me never having known that I wanted to know this information before.
...
Wait what

[autumn_leaf]

Thx for the video!! It really helped me with a science question 💗Keep up the great work SciShow!!

[SlyPearTree]

I did not know anything about wetsuit s beside the name before and I thought the name was because they're used in water.
Thanks Olivia.