Pressure vs. Skull

[Just Curious]

I've posted a similar question elsewhere, but I figured I'd try somewhere else as well.
I understand that the pressure underwater at great depths would cause arteries to burts, sinuses to rupture, and lungs to collapse and therefore disabling a diver to continue down (might be hard to swim with and aneurism and collapsed lungs) but if hypothetically all other systems remained functional, how deep would one have to go before the pressure was great enough to crush the skull?
There is absolutely no practical application to the answer of this question, I'm just looking to compare some numbers.

[BlueDevil]

I've posted a similar question elsewhere, but I figured I'd try somewhere else as well.
I understand that the pressure underwater at great depths would cause arteries to burts, sinuses to rupture, and lungs to collapse and therefore disabling a diver to continue down (might be hard to swim with and aneurism and collapsed lungs) but if hypothetically all other systems remained functional, how deep would one have to go before the pressure was great enough to crush the skull?
There is absolutely no practical application to the answer of this question, I'm just looking to compare some numbers.

I am no physicist but I was under the impression that since the body is largely incompressible that the effect of pressure would only affect the air spaces, and as long as your breathing gas was at ambient pressure then that wouldn't be a problem either. After all fish can be found at great depths and they don't have crushed skulls.

(Of course if we are talking of depths of thousands of metres then the main problem would be that there is no suitable breathing gas that would allow a human to survive...unless you were talking about the effects of pressure on a dead body?)

[WarmWaterDiver]

The concept of "crush depth" has more of a foundation in differential pressure than absolute pressure - like the differnce in pressure between the surroundings and the internals of an object - whether a skull or a submarine. As someone pointed out in the other thread, with the human body being mostly water, and water being a pretty fair representation of a Newtonian fluid, probably very, very, deep - and we may never know. A submarine at one atmosphere absolute pressure inside experiences increasing differential pressure as it descends - difference between outside absolute pressure and inside absolute pressure.

[JimC]

It wonl't happen, unless you can create a delta in presure between the sides of the skull. That wonl't happen unless you take the head off someone and seal up all the holes.

[pipedope]

Here a troll, there a troll, everywhere a troll troll.

[Scubaroo]

Just like you don't explode in space - you don't get crushed at depth.

Hollywood hates educated viewers.

[d33ps1x]

You can let check it out and send us up a note when you feel yourself being crushed to death.

How's that sound?

[Mo2vation]

This gets my vote as the best new Thread title in awhile.

Pressure Vs. Skull

Sounds like a WWE Pay per view thing, to me.

K

[Uncle Pug]

Only a problem for airheads.

[theskull]

I dive deep and have not yet been crushed!

theskull

[d33ps1x]

I dive deep and have not yet been crushed!

theskull

Good luck on your next fight vs Pressure.

I think you've been training hard and can take him no problem! My money is on the skull!

[No Fish]

Theskull.......... How long have you waited for that? Very funny.

[theskull]

Some times the planets just line up with the stars. . . and the joke finally fits!!

theskull

[Just Curious]

Glad to give you such a perfect opportunity. By the way, I really would like to see that fight.


*and so in spinning we find we have merely gotten dizzy*

[theskull]

It's really no competition. As long as the pressure is equal on both sides of the equation all is fine. And the voices inside my skull create a lot of pressure to offset that of the several hundred feet of water above me.

theskull

[ScubaJorgen]

I understand that the pressure underwater at great depths would cause arteries to burts, sinuses to rupture, and lungs to collapse and therefore disabling a diver to continue down (might be hard to swim with and aneurism and collapsed lungs) but if hypothetically all other systems remained functional, how deep would one have to go before the pressure was great enough to crush the skull?


Please, watch other movies, ones that are more correct from a scientific point of view (whereas in movies heads use to explode I haven't seen this in practice (fortunatelly))

:offtopic:

BTW In 'The Abyss' divers use breathing apparatus that fills the lungs with some oxygenated fluid so they can dive to incredible depths. I once got a question from a student who asked me if I knew more about the liquid stuff. I gave the about the same answer as above. However, I recently read something similar really exists :xeye: ! Not used for diving, but in medicine. To keep the alveoli open or so, I am not sure....

[JimC]

Oygenated fluorocarbons are pumped thrugh the lungs of severe burn victims and premature infants.

It isn't used very often as a medical treatment, but it does exist.

Ref: http://www.scienceweb.org/movies/abyss.html

[Iruka]

Only potential skull crushing in diving is from weight belts falling from above!

[HPT3]

It wonl't happen, unless you can create a delta in presure between the sides of the skull. That wonl't happen unless you take the head off someone and seal up all the holes.

Silicone