An environmental suit is a suit designed specifically for a particular environment, usually one otherwise hostile to humans. An environment suit is typically a one-piece garment, and many types also feature a

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

or other covering for the head. Where the surrounding environment is especially dangerous the suit is completely sealed. The first environmental suits were

diving suit A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit may also incorporate a breathing gas supply (such as for a standard diving dress or atmospheric diving suit). but in most cases the te ...

s designed to protect a diver from the surrounding water (see

timeline of underwater technology The timeline of underwater diving technology is a chronological list of notable events in the history of the development of underwater diving equipment. With the partial exception of breath-hold diving, the development of underwater diving capac ...

). Later developments were designed to protect the wearer from the cold (for example wetsuits and other ambient pressure suits) or from undersea high

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

and the resulting

decompression sickness Decompression sickness (abbreviated DCS; also called divers' disease, the bends, aerobullosis, and caisson disease) is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompressio ...

(for example atmospheric diving suits). Protecting the wearer from cold is also a feature of

ski suit A ski suit is a suit made to be worn over the rest of the clothes when skiing or snowboarding.aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

pressure suit A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pr ...

s protect fighter

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

s from hypoxia /

altitude sickness Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People can respond to high altitude in different ways. Sympt ...

, and

g-suit A g-suit, or anti-''g'' suit, is a flight suit worn by aviators and astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration force ( g). It is designed to prevent a black-out and g-LOC (g-induced loss of consciousness) caused by the blood pool ...

s from the adverse effects of acceleration (gravity-induced loss of consciousness, or

G-LOC g-force induced loss of consciousness (abbreviated as G-LOC, pronounced "JEE-lock") is a term generally used in aerospace physiology to describe a loss of consciousness occurring from excessive and sustained g-forces draining blood away from t ...

). The most extreme environmental suits are used by astronauts to protect them during ascent and while in the vacuum of space:

space suit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

s and space activity suits. Such suits are self-supporting, and include a supply of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

for the wearer. Environmental suits are also used to protect the wearer from contamination (for example

hazmat suit A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...

s), or conversely to protect the environment from contamination by the wearer (see

cleanroom suit A cleanroom suit, clean room suit, or bunny suit, is an overall garment worn in a cleanroom, an environment with a controlled level of contamination. One common type is an all-in-one coverall worn by semiconductor and nanotechnology line product ...

s). The concept of an environmental suit protecting someone from contamination is a feature of the boy in the bubble trope: both David Vetter and

Ted DeVita TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Dep ...

at some point used such suits.

References

* Comprehensive exposition of all major factors, including some analysis of active clothing systems * History of US spacesuit development * History of Russian spacesuit development * Discusses US, Russian and European advanced EVA concepts and prototypes * Less focused on clothing than Ken Parsons book, and more on biological effects of environment on humans. * * Discusses theories of human brain cooling and possibility of similar rete mirabile structure as found in some animals. * Discusses how the body adapts to pressure (high and low), cold, heat, and space. {{Refend Protective gear Safety clothing One-piece suits ru:Скафандр

See also

References