Ever been to space?

Me neither… But somehow close to...

Now that I got your attention, here is a completely new topic for which there is no mention or publication yet here I think. If you enjoy the read leave a comment and or some tips and follow for more. It is kind of a trial to publish diving related articles on different sites to see if people are interested or curious about it. I will see reactions and what kind of feedback I get.

So why or what is this headline then?

What if I told you that you could travel to a different world and that you could see places and things only a mere number of people has seen. That some of the creatures there are closer to aliens than any other living thing. That you could experience weightlessness and no gravity without going to space.

Well if you are thrilled about these ideas, this is what scuba diving is about. Keep on reading.

A different world

Entering the water world scuba diving is quite humbling. Humans have conquered the highest mountains, crossed the biggest desert and for some, they have set foot on the moon. But once we get underwater, we come into one of the most adverse places we know. That is why only a small portion of the oceans has been explored. 

As depth increases, pressure sets in and limits air breathing humans in many ways. The current record for a scuba dive is 338 meters and the logistics to get there is pretty complex and kept busy and on the edge a team of 42 people. But we do not need to get there to enjoy it.

Most diving takes place in the first 30 meters.This is where coral reefs thrive and is populated with all kinds of marine life. And I could say that marine life is very intriguing and quite unique and just this is the topic to countless articles about all the different ones. At depths that shallow, the light is still good and colors are still bright and can still be clearly seen.

An experience like nothing else

Just the fact that we are underwater and breathing is quite mind boggling at the beginning. For some their experience will stop there as their brain can't really get around that idea. At first, equipment might feel overwhelming, the fear may take over our rational thinking. After all we are humans and not meant to be there underwater. But once we get past this we can enjoy and experience a whole range of new feelings.

Things like sound and light behave differently underwater. Gravity has no hold anymore and this, this is a very special thing. We can then move freely in any direction, shifting left and right or going up and down like we would be suspended above ground, in other words it is like flying.

You said no gravity, weightlessness, how is it possible? Well, Eureka!

Do you know or remember the word Eureka? Archimedes famously said this word jumping out of his bathtub as he understood the mechanism behind buoyancy. He understood that the weight of the water displaced by an object will give equivalent buoyancy in weight. This is a topic for another article but it is the idea behind how we can be weightless and escape gravity.

Astronauts have been using scuba diving for training purposes for quite a while as it is the cheapest, easiest way to simulate space. They built in a bigger than an olympic size pool, a replica of the space station where astronauts train to work around the space station.

Divers use what they call a buoyancy compensator and ballast to achieve neutral buoyancy. A perfect balance between the air in their especially designed jackets and the weight of the lead block they carry will make them neutrally buoyant. Good divers will know how to achieve this state with ease and will even learn to use the little difference air in the lungs can also affect their buoyancy.

All this is very interesting, what is next?

I will publish more about scuba diving for those interested in this activity. You can follow me and look for the next publication. If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below. As a technical diving instructor my work is to make this come true for people who dare to start.