Scuba and Deep-Sea Divers Take Precautions When Surfacing to Avoid Problems Caused by Dissolved Gases in Their?
blood and the gases in the alveoli of their lungs? What properties of gases make caution when diving essential? What precautions do divers take? What makes these precautions effective?
anyone know?
It’s gases (mainly nitrogen) dissolved in their body fluids (mainly blood). As divers descend in the water, the pressure on the body goes up. Under this pressure, the gases in their breathing air dissolve in their blood.
Under pressure, gases are more soluble in liquids. Think of a closed container of carbonated soft drink. When the container is opened, the pressure is released and the dissolved carbon dioxide gas forms bubbles.
The same thing can happen to a diver who surfaces too quickly. The nitrogen in the breathing air that dissolved due to the high pressure now forms bubbles in his body. These bubbles can cause pain and other problems in the diver’s body.
To avoid ‘getting the bends’ the diver must ascend slowly allowing the dissolved nitrogen to be gradually eliminated in the lungs. The diver uses information from ‘diving tables’ to know how fast to ascend.
The same thing can happen to pilots who fly at very high altitudes. This is why you see astronauts suited up and carrying oxygen as they board the spacecraft. They have been breathing pure oxygen to purge nitrogen from their blood.
Hope this helps.