Could you dive to the titanic?

[Pliny]

Even if, and that is a big if, you could solve all the problems with gas toxicity and equalization of air spaces, there is another problem I don't think could be solved. I have only been to 250 feet (in a chamber), but I noticed the air became viscous. That is, it seems thick. At Titanic depths it would be impossible to ventilate properly because the gas you would be breathing would be so thick. A one atmosphere diving suit is the answer. Here is a link to information on the "Jim-Suit".
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ear0int-4

[jimdoe2you]

All of my experience in the "Jim-Suit" tells me that I would still be crushed under all that tremendous pressure. I still have depth limitations even when in such a fancy suit.

Jim

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[TNdiver]

I dont know alot about decompression, but isnt the main problem there from nitrogen in the air being breathed disolving into the body? It seems to me that liquid breathing would defeat that, and no deco time would be required.

[trux]

Originally Posted by TNdiver

I dont know alot about decompression, but isnt the main problem there from nitrogen in the air being breathed disolving into the body? It seems to me that liquid breathing would defeat that, and no deco time would be required.

Yes, this is basically correct. In the document Decompression incidence in air- and liquid-breathing hamsters it is shown on experiments that test animals (hamsters) breathing liquids, unlike animals breathing gas mixtures, survive explosive decompression without complications. However, you should bear on mind that it is a simplified test, and that there are many other effects and factors that may play role at humans under liquid breathing in great depths.

There are different risk factors already listed by others earlier in this thread. One of the most limiting ones is the High Pressure Nervous Syndrome (HPNS). In the old times, the effects occurring at deep trimix dives (sometimes already at depths of 130m), were incorrectly attributed to Helium. However, the paper "EEG and evoked potential changes during gas- and liquid-breathing dives to 1000 msw" documents that HPNS causes problems also at liquid breathing in depths (under higher pressure).

As for bone damage at whales and other diving mammals (including dinosaurs), it is a well known fact, but usually it is blamed to osteonecrosis caused by fast decompression either due to fast surfacing (see for example the document "Cumulative sperm whale bone damage and the bends"), or like in the theory of cpt. David Williams, due to pressure changes during seaquakes.

However, the effect of extremely high pressure of some 350 bars on human bones is currently unknown (as far as I can tell). It is not quite true that liquids are non-compressible. It is only close to true. Seawater is only nearly incompressible. Its coefficient of compressibility being 0.000046 per bar under standard conditions. This value changes slightly with changes in temperature or salinity. (see this document for details) It means that at pressure of 350 bars, the compression ratio is 0.016 which means 1.6%. I am not capable to tell if it poses any risk to human bones (or other structures inside the body), but so far it certainly cannot be excluded without closer investigation and experimenting, regardless to the fact that some whales are capable of diving to comparable depths.

[Pliny]

The question is interesting because it seems like we have solved so many problems in diving that we can keep going deeper and deeper. I love to read about it and this has been a great thread. But intuituition doesn't work here. There are so many factors, even factors that we don't know about, that it is not possible to forsee the issues and obsticles to diving at that depth. There are no computers or special programs that can predict the problems that would be incurred. it is a fallacy to make the hasty generalization ("Converse Accident" it is sometimes called) that since everything in science and technology seems to advance with time, that we will one day dive at ambient pressures equal to those at the depth of the Titanic. So...don't hold your breath!
Yet a 3192 meter dive has been documented. See: http://www.4to40.com/recordbook/inde...=495&category=

[Pliny]

Here is another facinating issue. Lets say the physological problems are all solved and you load up 30 or 40 thousand cubic feet of air (gas) and head toward the bottom below at 12,460 feet to take some photos of the Titanic. At a rate of decent of 100 feet a minute you reach 6230 feet (half way) an hour after leaving the surface and notice two things. First, the volume of air remaining probably won't get you to the bottom much less any bottom time and enough gas to get you back up. Then you notice that the pressure at 6230 is 2775 psi and equal to pressure of your tank. You decide to return to the surface and your dive computer shows that you will have to decompress for the rest of your natural life, which at this point you are wondering how long that will be!

[naiad]

Originally Posted by Pliny

Lets say the physological problems are all solved and you load up 30 or 40 thousand cubic feet of air (gas) and head toward the bottom below at 12,460 feet to take some photos of the Titanic.

But with liquid breathing, all that could be solved. The air would be so dense at that depth anyway, that it would probably be like breathing liquid.

[DeepQuest]

You absolutely CAN NOT dive to Titanic. All other considerations aside, the pressure would crush you LONG before you ever reached the wreck sight, there are only 4 submersibles in the world that can reach that depth, so unless you are Superman, it is not even a consideration.

[trux]

Originally Posted by DeepQuest

You absolutely CAN NOT dive to Titanic. All other considerations aside, the pressure would crush you LONG before you ever reached the wreck sight, there are only 4 submersibles in the world that can reach that depth, so unless you are Superman, it is not even a consideration.

Crushed lungs are the last concern when freediving to great depth. Effect called blood-shift takes care of the pressure compensation. You may want to know that Herbert Nitsch dove to 214 m on empty lungs (he blew off most of the air from his lungs at the beginning of the dive) and did not have his lungs crushed. Well, 3500 m is a bit more, but the volume remaining at an empty-lungs dive to 214 m is already so small, that there would not be any big difference. Blood shift would likely allow going to any depth, if there were not all the other physiological problems discussed here above.

And if we are speaking about scuba (regardless if breathing gas or liquids), then crushed lungs are no issue either - in scuba, the pressure inside the lungs is identical to the ambient pressure, so there is no risk of crushing them.