Blowing bubbles
Discovering the magical underwater world.
📸 Photo taken at Pipeline/Nelsons Bay, Australia by Sanne Lammerink.
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing
equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The
name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing
Apparatus", was coined by Christian J. Lambertsen in a patent submitted
in 1952.
Scuba divers carry their own source of breathing gas, usually compressed
air, affording them greater independence and movement than
surface-supplied divers, and more time underwater than free divers.
Although the use of compressed air is common, a gas blend with a higher
oxygen content, known as enriched air or nitrox, has become popular due
to the reduced nitrogen intake during long and/or repetitive dives.
Also, breathing gas diluted with helium may be used to reduce the
likelihood and effects of nitrogen narcosis during deeper dives.