Everyday Curiosity: Swimsuits

Competitive swimmers are incredible athletes. Swims get faster and faster, seemingly defying physics. It is possible for swimmers to harness the adrenaline of huge competitions and record personal best swims that blow world records out of the water. When swimmers are in the water, they are in a battle with friction and drag. Nearly everything a swimmer does in the water is an attempt to move through the water more efficiently. At first glance, one might not even see all of the technology in the pool.

Manufacturers of competitive swimsuits are always researching ways to help swimmers. Did you know that moving through air is 780 times easier than moving through water? Every small improvement in suit design has the potential for a huge payoff. Most suits used in major competition use compression fabrics to make the body more hydrodynamic. The challenge is getting the compression in the right places. Many swimsuit companies spend countless hours analyzing swimming to reduce drag on a swimmer.

In 2009, an incredible number of swimmers set world records by wearing suits that could trap air. When these suits were banned from competition, swimsuit companies needed to come up with different ideas. The suit ban inspired companies to redesign the swim cap and googles. Swimsuit companies work hard to improve their designs while still following rules to keep competitions fair.

Everyday Curiosity is a weekly electronic magazine for kids ages 8 to 14 that explores math, science, and engineering in the real world. Each issue asks one big question and has three related hands-on projects to go deeper into the math, science, and engineering behind everyday observations. The projects use supplies that are already in the house or could be found easily at a grocery store, general department store, or (in rare cases) a hardware store.