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The facts about Scuba Diving below have been compiled by a group of Instructors and historians in the world of Scuba Diving.
The Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus as we know it today was developed by the infamous Jacques Cousteau in 1943. However, Cousteau did not come up with this idea all on his own. Records of similar inventions and ideas date back more then 300 years ago with Leonardo da Vinci. Since then, the sport of Scuba Diving as come a long way in safety and comfort for the enjoyment of everyone who is willing to try it. The following facts about Scuba Diving have been set apart from the rest as the most important for those thinking they may be interested in trying Scuba diving and for those who are already certified, but looking to improve their knowledge on their sport.
Why Should you be certified to Scuba Dive?
Is it illegal or can you get in trouble for going Scuba Diving without a certification? The simple answer is, No. You can purchase equipment from a local dive shop without being certified, but in order to get air fills for your tank or check out rentals, a dive shop owner must ask for your certification card to process the request. On that same note, if you plan on doing any type of diving from a charter boat, the captain and the dive shop affiliated with the charter are responsible for requiring you to show proof of your certification. If either of these entities chooses not to request your certification card, they run the risk of having their credentials stripped. This is why most of those individuals who have been diving on their own without proper training choose to take Scuba Diving Lessons from one of the reputable agencies (SSI, PADI, NAUI, or YMCA). As you will read further, you will find that the risks involved with Scuba Diving are great, but with proper training, those risks are greatly diminished.
General facts about scuba diving equipment:
Scuba Diving is the most equipment intensive sport there is. Scuba Diving equipment is literally a form of life support system, keeping us alive as we enter a world that wasn't originally designed for us. For this reason, your equipment must be Scuba quality and owning your own equipment is HIGHLY recommended for proper fitting and understanding of its mechanisms while diving. For more in depth coverage, please see Facts about Scuba Diving Equipment list.
Mask – A mask purchased at your local ‘mart' will NOT do the job. Masks must be Scuba quality and able to with stand the pressures it is being put under while at depth.
Snorkel – Your snorkel is a piece of safety equipment and helps you conserve on your air supply while at the surface.
Fins and booties/socks – Your mode of transportation while diving. The style for you depends on what type of diving you will be doing.
Exposure suits – Not just for keeping your body warm, but also a form or protection from the surrounding elements.
Weights/Belts – The amount of weight you carry with greatly depend on the type of water you are diving in, your body type, and what type of exposure suit you are wearing.
Buoyancy Compensators (BC) – May be the most important piece of equipment that you will personally own as a diver. Fit and comfort are highly important while diving.
Regulators – Broken down into 1 st and 2 nd stages, they literally ‘regulate' the air coming out of the scuba tank to a breathable pressure that your lungs can take in.
Tanks (Cylinders) – the we breathe as divers is NOT 100% Oxygen, but rather the same air that we breathe here at the surface (20% Oxygen, 80% Nitrogen, Other mixed gasses). Tanks come in a variety of sizes and pressures to suit the divers' needs.
Accessories – Not just to make you look good, but every accessory has its purpose. Knives, lights, flags, whistles, o-rings, slates, and retractors are just a few.
Facts about Scuba Diving Physiology?
What happens to your bodies under pressure? Everyone knows that water weights more then air. For this reason, pressure is far greater under water then at the surface. There are many things that happen to your bodies as the pressure increases on descent.
As it is right now, your body is fully saturated with Nitrogen. When you inhale, your body takes the oxygen that it needs and exhales everything that it doesn't. This includes excess Nitrogen. But when we are scuba diving at depth, your bodies turn into a virtual Soda Can. The contents of a soda can are under pressure and gas is forced into a liquid while in that can. When you release the top, this gas comes out of its liquid solution and back to its normal state, forming bubbles. The same is true while diving. As you go deeper, Nitrogen is forced into a liquid state in your blood stream. When you ascend to the surface, this gas will come out of its liquid state. This is a perfectly safe procedure, as long as you are a trained diver and follow protocol. Please read below for the negative effects this will have on your body if you as a diver fail to follow the simple guidelines for safety.
Risks of Increasing and Decreasing Pressures:
Effects of Increasing pressure – Nitrogen Narcosis (AKA: being Narked, Rapture of the Deep), is the feeling of being drunk while scuba diving and happens when your body has a negative effect of the increasing partial pressure of Nitrogen. N.N. is sometimes accompanied by head aches, dizziness, nervousness, anxiety and/or the feeling of euphoria, depending on the severity. Although N.N. itself is harmless, what you may do as an individual while under the effects of N.N. can be lethal. To simply ascend to a shallower depth will cease the effects of Nitrogen Narcosis. Once the side effects wear off, it is safe to start your descent again. If one chooses to continue the dive with out ascending, the effects will only get worse and loss of comprehension and rational thinking will cease.
Effects of decreasing pressure and over expansion injuries– When Nitrogen comes out of its liquid state on your ascent, much of this excess nitrogen is exhaled out through normal respiration. This is done by taking a slow, 30 foot per minute ascent to the surface. In the event a diver comes up too quickly, the gas will be forced out of the lungs and form larger bubbles. These bubbles will find a place to collect in your body and it will always be unpleasant. A Subcutaneous Emphysema is when the air is trapped under the skin. Redness and rash may appear at the site. Mediastinal Emphysema is pressure around the heart and will cause chest pain. Pneumothorax is when the escaped air collects around the lung and separates it from the chest wall. In its worst cases, a collapsed lung may occur. And finally an Air Embolism is when these bubbles make their way into the blood stream, causing many complications, including blood being cut off from the brain.
Facts about Scuba Diving Tables:
If you know little about scuba diving, you may think that you can stay down as long as you would like, so long as you have air in your tank. This is where many non certified individuals who are diving, make some very serious mistakes. Although in this day and age computers are more readily available and easier to use for all areas of scuba diving, the use of tables are still very important. In the event your computer battery dies, or your computer leaks, you must use your tables as a back up. The Dive tables may vary depending on the agency teaching the curriculum, however, the times and principles are nearly identical. The “No Decompression Limits” are based on the amount of time you stay down combined with the deepest depth at which you have gone. To understand more, look at the History of the US Navy Diver Tables .
Facts about Scuba Diving with Marine Life:
In most cases, many of the animals you dive with are harmless and amazing to get to see first hand. Even the marine life that has a poor reputation has been unearned. Usually, if you are leaving well enough alone and taking pictures or simply just swimming by, the marine life will go on its own way, and most of the time, run from you. Sharks are the most feared of the marine life by all new divers, but no need to worry. Even the large sharks aren't looking for divers to eat. Eels have very sharp teeth, but only keep their mouths open and show them to you for breathing purposes. And barracudas can grow up to 6-8 feet in length and have deadly sharp teeth, but again, when left alone they are an amazing creature to watch and be enthralled by its beauty. We have put together a collection of Scuba Diving Pics for you to enjoy. You may look through them or add your own to our collection for others to see.
General Facts about Scuba Diving:
Color Loss - As you descend to depth, light can not penetrate through the water. The first color to be lost is Red, then orange, and so on through the colors of the rainbow. Unfortunately the first colors that are lost are those same colors that are prevalent on a reef. For this reason it is a good idea that even on a day dive, for a diver to bring an artificial light source (flash light) down with them to bring out the natural colors of the marine plants and animals. (If you bleed at 60 feet, your blood is green!)
Refraction – When light hits the surface of the water it bends and magnifies. So, an object under water appears to be 25% closer and 33% larger then what it really is.
Sound – Sound waves travel 4 times faster underwater then on the surface. This means when you hear a sound, your brain does not have time to distinguish wear the sound came from. You will not be able to pinpoint a direction where the sound originated.
Body Heat – You will lose body heat 25x faster in water then air due to the fact that water is a much better conductor of heat. This is the reason why 70 degree air temperature may seem beautiful, but freezing cold in the water.
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