Saw this on Another Forum...Deep Deep Diving

[Prudent_Rabbit]

I dont know about this, just reposting as i thought it was interesting :11:

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/me...entid=0&from=1

Last week I was on a seminar by a PhD, prof. dr. and all that of hyperbaric fiziology (sp?) Dean Horvat who was (perhaps still is) employed by the US Navy (and is almost my neighbour

He was (is) working on development of liquid breathing technology (remember the movie Abbys?) and SEAL training

anyway he told us a couple of things about it and since he personaly tried it (not underwater though) I tend to believe him.

He said that the theoretical limit of such diving is around 3500m +- a couple hundred) but numerous dives have been to 1200m+...... not much more

what do SEALs do down there? apparently they dig a hole, cover themselves up to their necks wtih mud and wait for submarines for a number of days then when it goes by....military secrets...

so how can you breathe liquid you ask?

it`s a liquid that has a high level of oxigen in it and acts similar to blood. It can substitute oxigen for carbon dioxide very easily.
It also contains "food", antiseptics (for neutralising urin etc.), stuff that pervents maceration (I guess that is the term for it)...in simple words... it prevents your skin from softening (think hot bath and wrinkles)

there is enough oxigen in it to last about 14 days but dives usually last 5-6 days...suposedly if you went out to buy the ingredients for this liquid you would pay about 500€ per dive

the suit is very much like a regular dry suit (not like those space things) so they have lots of comfort...there is also a heater and a pump that keeps it all flowing inside
There are two closed "circuits" of fluid, one suplying the head and one for the rest of the body

it takes 2 years to train one diver at a cost of 1.000.000 in US $ ... three years back they had 12 trained divers

since waiting 1200m down for days without moving has certain psychological effects there is a "slightly" higher rate of suicides and all of them are single or divorced

anecdote... during training two divers dissapeared without trace...suspected troublemakers -> giant squids and some whales (don`t know their english names)

but how is it possible to breathe liquid?

He told us what he experienced when he tried it on land

basically you get flooded with it and for as long as you can you hold your breath (natural reflex) then eventualy you "drown" and start breathing it

interesting thing is that after a while your skin gets so soft that gasses can partialy exchange and you start breathing like some lizzard - through your entire body!!

when he got drained and squeezed like some sponge he said that for the first time in his life he discovered that air has TASTE!! not just funny scents of someone farting

How is it possible to experience 120+bar of pressure?

you get flooded completely so there are no air pockets and since liquid doesn`t compress there are no problems (your body is 70% water and some tissue that doesn`t compress much either)

what`s the point of going so deep?

robots and such thing make "a lot" of noise and emmit all sorts of things, these divers are silent and their sonar image doesn`t look like something much to the sub (they`re covered with mud or something anyway) so they can`t be detected and they can do their job without many problems

apparently during the gulf war this technology has been tested in action as they say....they mined some Iraqi ships in a harbour without anyone noticing untill those things went up in smoke and sank....while they were already back in base having a beer

I must say this was my fav part of the seminar.... up till now I thought the max depth was 700m by some french guys in lab testing (huge baro chamber) and they had about 3months of deco time

this thing doesn`t require deco.... imagine going on a diving holiday... you take a can of this liquid, stay submerged for 14 days, get out and drained, take a shower and go home.... you save a bunch of money on accomodation, food & drinks and most importantly... if you take a wife (or even mother in law) along you don`t have to listen to them the entire vacation

sounds like sci-fi doesn`t it? Can`t wait till this thing gets comercial

[mrstein]

GOOD POST Rabbit ............

[SeanQ]

Interesting read. I can't imagine spending $1 million in training for a soldier only to have them lay on the sea floor and wait for passing submarines. The ocean is a bit big to be patrolled by a mere 12 soldiers.

Wouldn't the effort of breathing something many hundreds of times denser than air be exhausting after a prolonged period of time?

[Lake Mead Tony]

Sounds like 20,000 leagues under the sea to me. Mabey I'm just old school, but I like my air to be in a gas form!!

[skinerd]

this liquid is also used for treating colapsed lungs in infants, or so i hear...

[waterbearer]

One of my favorite parts of diving!

...you don`t have to listen to them the entire vacation

Great info! I saw The Abyss and have to say that was the one thing that really stayed in my mind and has me up at night thinking.

[Meng_Tze]

what do SEALs do down there? apparently they dig a hole, cover themselves up to their necks wtih mud and wait for submarines for a number of days then when it goes by....


..there is also a heater and a pump that keeps it all flowing inside

robots and such thing make "a lot" of noise and emmit all sorts of things,

Here are some hints.......

Why do seals have to dig in? Submarines have no windows and guess what... if robots can be detected by their sonar image.... so will the pump and the heater......any moving part and any electrical part has a signature, including small pumps and heaters.

contradicting pieces here. And beside, c'mos, with the sonar nets around the world it is practically impossible to slip through, even as an ordinary diver, let alone a submarine......

But okay I'll play along. What does the neighbour Doctor say? No deco? So basically O2 with a non-absorbed dilutent.... whonder what that comes from dilithium crystals?

[PfcAJ]

This whole thing makes no logical sense. Seriously, an "antiseptic" to neutralize urine? How would you equalize? Fluid in your middle ear?

I just have to question the accuracy of hearsay from a person who can't spell physiology and oxygen.

Oh, and when you "drown", usually you'll have a laryngospasm and that will prevent liquid from entering your lungs.

[Meng_Tze]

This whole thing makes no logical sense. Seriously, an "antiseptic" to neutralize urine? How would you equalize? Fluid in your middle ear?

I just have to question the accuracy of hearsay from a person who can't spell physiology and oxygen.

Oh, and when you "drown", usually you'll have a laryngospasm and that will prevent liquid from entering your lungs.

You a dakta?

It hurts when I press here.

[Adobo]

5 days? Hopefully things like eating and sleeping are not important. I've heard stories of people going loopy after being up 2 days without any sleep so I guess being lucid while prosecuting these missions is not all that critical.

And I bet the drysuit is really neat. Not only can it circulate and heat the ambient fluid but also sterilize/neutralize urine. I wonder what they do with #2. Is there like a rear end relief zipper? I hate the idea of "dump" valve. The whole notion of the accompanying catheter is just downright scary.