A new test chamber in Ontario's Brock University simulates the harshest weather conditions on the planet, and it could lead to warmer, safer clothing for workers who brave nature's most extreme climates.
"It's a giant fridge," Stephen Cheung, associate professor of physical education and kinesiology, told CTV News. "Or an oven."
The chamber can go from minus 30 degrees Celsius to plus 50, simulate altitudes of up to 2,300 metres above sea level, and make the air as dry as an Arizona desert.
Cheung said it's "the only one of its kind in North America."
The chamber is part of Brock's new "Environmental Ergonomics Laboratory," which also includes a pool that simulates conditions in the frigid North Atlantic ocean.
Last month, two fishermen died off the coast of Newfoundland after their boat capsized. They were wearing survival suits that can typically keep a person alive for 36 hours.
With the laboratory's pool, Cheung hopes to design protective gear that can keep fisherman alive for a much longer period of time.
Source ctv.ca/
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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