Shark suit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A shark suit is a body-cover suit made of chainmail worn sometimes by scuba divers to protect against shark bite. A standard shark suit cannot be guaranteed against great white shark bite: that hazard needs an especially heavy shark suit.
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[edit] Development
In the late 1970s, marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan developed a flexible suit of armor for divers to wear while working around sharks. Often referred to as: Metal Mesh Shark Suit, Chain Mail Anti-Shark Suit, Steel Mesh Shark Suit, etc. Its actual name is the NEPTUNIC Sharksuit. The technology Sullivan developed and continues to advance is now known and used throughout the world.
[edit] Construction
A typical shark suit is constructed of extremely tightly-woven steel or titanium rings covering a standard neoprene wetsuit. A shark bite will not be able to penetrate the rings, because the jaws will be shutting too slowly and the shark's muscles will not be able to cut the metal. Similar to chainmail, divers wearing sharksuits can suffer from broken bones from the sheer force of a shark chomping down on a limb.
[edit] Combat Use?
A sharksuit would not work as ballistic armor, as the rings are not tightly woven enough to withstand the concussive force of a gunpowder-propelled bullet. Kevlar is able to withstand this force due to the density of its weave, but sharksuits are too loosely knitted to be effective military armor.
