Mizuno reckons that by reducing friction, keeping the flow orderly and delaying separation of the boundary layer, its new suits offer the average female swimmer 9.5% less drag than a conventional costume.
The resin within the carbon layers is laced with lithium ions, so that each layer acts like an electrode, causing the positively charged lithium ions to collect in one layer when a voltage is applied, and a current to flow when the sandwich is placed in a circuit.