Re: Congratulations!
Originally posted by Ender
Is there a similar thing now? Is there something apart from equalizing and (d'uh) the amount of time it takes to prevent humans to go to 200m or something? Are we just defining the limit as we go along or is there a theoretical wall somewhere?
Ender, there is a (not only theoretical) wall limiting our maximum depth.
It is related to the bloodshift occuring during deep dives after maximum lung compression is reached.
At this point, your thorax and abdomen do not allow further compression of the lung.
If you go deeper you get a pressure difference between the lumen of the lung and the pressure inside your cardiovascular system (which has the same pressure as the environment).
This drives the bloodshift, with blood flowing from the periphery of your body (arms, legs, skin) to the blood vessels inside your thorax. The cappillaries of your lung get more and more dilated, and this leads to the so-called "erection of the lung":duh
Thus, the pressure inside your lung is nearly equalized.
The problem is that the capillaries cannot strech to the infinite.
The limit is reached, when the capillaries burst, which leads to a lung oedem(that's what we call it in Germany), which means that blood and intercellular fluid flow inside your lung:naughty
So that's when things get quite messy...
This limit is not the same for everyone. Genetics and training surely have an influence.
The dolphins and other diving mammalians have solved this problem: they have no sternum, so that their thorax can be compressed until there is no air in the alveoli of their lungs.
Well, just my 2 cents (Euro Cents, he he):hmm