I am guessing that in the nearly 5 years since the question was asked, Mofrog got the answer.
Absolute pressure verses Ambient pressure
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This discussion reminds me of the old joke about blind men describing an elephant. it also illustrates the love affair lots of divers seem to have with technical jargon that is of no real significance or importance.
I recently sat through a class in order to get my nitrox card. I learned a number of things that I didn't know before. Among these was the realization that some people have a hard time understanding that they are experiencing one atmosphere of pressure on the surface at sea level. My comment "that's why it's called one atmosphere" drew a few blank looks, and a long discussion much like the foregoing. There seemed to be some difficulty in comprehending the fact that we start off with one atmosphere of pressure before we get into the water, and add another equivalent atmosphere for approximately every 33 feet of SW. There are, of course, some slight modifications when diving in lakes that are located above sea level and a few other unusual cirumstances.
Depth gauges do not measure atmospheres. They measure pressure, ambient pressure, and convert this pressure reading into a SW depth equivalent. They function like a butcher's scale, more or less, depending on the type of gauge. I also noticed, during this class, that a great deal of useless rote memorization of terminology goes on during instruction. Ultimately this results in silly discussions, with an emphasis on the kind of strict definitions the nuns imposed in catechism class when I was a boy in parochial school. Much dive education has a parochial flavor all its own.
I recently sat through a class in order to get my nitrox card. I learned a number of things that I didn't know before. Among these was the realization that some people have a hard time understanding that they are experiencing one atmosphere of pressure on the surface at sea level. My comment "that's why it's called one atmosphere" drew a few blank looks, and a long discussion much like the foregoing. There seemed to be some difficulty in comprehending the fact that we start off with one atmosphere of pressure before we get into the water, and add another equivalent atmosphere for approximately every 33 feet of SW. There are, of course, some slight modifications when diving in lakes that are located above sea level and a few other unusual cirumstances.
Depth gauges do not measure atmospheres. They measure pressure, ambient pressure, and convert this pressure reading into a SW depth equivalent. They function like a butcher's scale, more or less, depending on the type of gauge. I also noticed, during this class, that a great deal of useless rote memorization of terminology goes on during instruction. Ultimately this results in silly discussions, with an emphasis on the kind of strict definitions the nuns imposed in catechism class when I was a boy in parochial school. Much dive education has a parochial flavor all its own.
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