Signature Assignment

SCUBA DIVING
Scuba diving is a fun way to explore the
Earths vast oceans; but have you ever
surfaced too fast and started to feel
sick? This sickness is due to a condition
called decompression sickness, this
sickness results from a quick reduction
of the ambient pressure surrounding the
body. Under normal circumstances the
nitrogen we breath is inert and will
circulate throughout the body with no
real issues and be breath out. However,
while diving the nitrogen will enter into
the blood stream in much greater
quantities and the reason you dont feel
so good when you surface to quickly is
because the nitrogen does not have time
to slowly work its way out of the body
instead it will form bubbles in your cells
and on your tissues that are painful and
can damaging your cells. If it goes
untreated severe cases can kill you.

-The Bends, Emaze

The Hyperbaric Chamber

A hyperbaric chamber is a room that allows someone to breathe 100% pure oxygen at a
pressure greater than 1 standard atmosphere.

(A

(B

(A: Monoplace Chamber (single occupant); (B: Multiplace Chamber (multiple occupants)

The purpose of Hyperbaric chambers is to deliver hyperbaric (increased pressure)

oxygen therapy to those suffering from decompression sickness: this is done by altering
atmospheric pressure and oxygen percentages. To do this they took Henry's Law which states
that the amount of an ideal gas dissolved in solution is directly proportional to its partial
pressure and Boyle's Law which states that the pressure and volume of a gas are inversely
related, as one increases the other will decrease; and adding them together to get a therapy
that will both alter the affects and change the process of how the body recovers from the swift
changes in atmospheric pressure.
Boyle's Law P1V1/T1 =P2V2/T2

Henrys Law C=kPgas

Since (per Boyles Law) the volume of nitrogen bubbles is inversely related to the
pressure exerted upon it. At the atmospheric pressure of 3.0 atm, the volume from the nitrogen
bubbles will decrease by about two-thirds. To further distill the solution of bubbles they replace
the inert nitrogen with oxygen, the oxygen is then swiftly metabolized by tissues and the
nitrogen is carried away and exhaled. Ideally the use of the two laws not only serves the
purpose of treating those who experience decompression sickness it in addition can be used to
treat, air or gas embolisms, carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, smoke inhalation, gangrene
caused by certain bacteria, radiation tissue damage, thermal burns, non-healing skin grafts,
crush injuries, serious blood loss and intracranial abscess.

Reflection
At standard atmospheric pressure (1 ATM) the oxygen (O2) inside our bodies is able to
bind itself to the hemoglobin molecules inside our red blood cells. The percent of oxygen we
have is essential to our bodies functioning system. Not enough oxygen is obviously a bad thing
and can cause severe respiratory problems and respiratory failure, like wise too much oxygen is
another bad thing as it can lead to oxygen toxicity which causes seizures and can damage the
lungs making it even more difficult and painful to breath.
As a diver descends in altitude and breathes high pressured air, his tissues will begin to
loaded up an increased amount of oxygen and nitrogen and the deeper he goes the more
nitrogen is dissolved/mixed into the blood. Under normal 1 atm pressure and conditions, we
breathe a gas mixture of about 20-21% Oxygen and about 78-80% Nitrogen, the nitrogen we
breathe is circulated and then breathed off or off gassed from the body as we exhale, this
process helps us to not accumulate nitrogen in our cells, instead the accumulation we are
considered to be in equilibrium with the atmosphere; but as a diver descends and then returns
to the surface, this equilibrium can be affected and the amount of the gas in a divers tissues
may exceed the ambient pressure and lead the nitrogen to release its free gas from the tissues
in the form of bubbles. This release of gas bubbles can then go on to alter our organ function in
various ways including, blocking vessels, rupturing or compressing tissue, or activating clotting
and inflammatory cascades.
While these numbers mostly reflect diving situations there are a large number of our
daily activities that will affect the atmospheric pressure on our bodies. One of which is when
the weather hits 0 Celsius (273 Kelvin) the mountains are able to sustain a snowfall and as the
snow builds up you can hit the summits for a day of skiing or boarding. However, the change in
altitude as you drive up to the summits may sometimes have an effect on your ears and may
cause them to pop this (mostly uncomfortable) symptom is in part related to the body taking
a bit longer to adjust to the change in atmospheric pressure.

H2O (s) @ 0C and lower

H2O(l) @ 0C to 100C

H20(g) @ 100 C and higher

2H2 + O2 = 2H2O the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen is 2:1, the ratio of hydrogen to water is 1:1,
and the ratio of oxygen to water is 1:2.
The density of Oxygen gas (O2) is 1.43 (g/L)

The density of Hydrogen (H) is 0.08988 (g/L)

The density of water (H2O) is 1000 (kg/m3)

Bibliography

Scuba diving photos: Google Scuba Diving images

Hyperbaric Chambers photos: Google hyperbaric chamber images
Hyperbaric Chamber information: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, By C Crawford Mechem,
MD, FACEP and Scott Manaker, MD, PhD
The Bends by Emaze- next Generation of Online Presentation Software
States of water: University of Illinois