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That diving physiology class fact that stuck with me
I was reading through the NOAA diving manual last night and found out that at 100 feet deep, the air in your lungs is compressed to one quarter of its surface volume. That really made me think about how fast things can go wrong if you hold your breath on ascent. Has anyone else run into a stat from a training manual that just kind of sat with you for a while?
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alice_hart23d ago
That gas expansion on ascent is exactly why I surface like a stressed out balloon.
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the_holly12d ago
Respectfully, I see it a little different. The whole reason you need to ascend slower is so that gas actually has time to leave your body, not just your tank. If you pop up too fast, that expanding gas gets trapped in your tissues instead of just floating out as expected. There's a huge difference between your body handling normal gas exchange and your body violently bubbling up because you skipped safety stops. Belly pressure aside, that's the real scare factor.
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joelt7023d ago
Yeah I tried explaining Boyle's law to my buddy once and he just stared at me and said "so don't hold your breath got it." Which is fair because that's basically the whole thing. Meanwhile I'm over here trying to remember if I can pass gas at 30 feet without causing some kind of internal catastrophe.
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