Why is the air different for deep sea divers?
The most common gas used in scuba cylinders consists of 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen which surprisingly is the same percentages of the air that we breathe on land without scuba cylinders. The main difference with this type of mix in the scuba cylinder is that is filtered air and the moisture is lower than the air we breathe on land. The second less common blend is called nitrox. This mix (called nitrox or enriched air) has a higher percentage of oxygen in the cylinder versus nitrogen usually 32% oxygen or 36% oxygen. The reason for the higher percentage of oxygen is to reduce the possibility of decompression sickness which caused by having too much nitrogen stored in the body from breathing air at depth. Nitrogen is an inert gas, that, under pressure stores itself in a scuba diver’s tissues while breathing air at depth. The nitrogen is soluable which means it can be forced into a liquid (per Henry’s Law of Physics). Nitrogen goes into our system through inhalation as a gas and comes out
