Scuba diving facts for kids
Scuba Diving is a sport in which people (called "scuba divers," or simply "divers") can swim underwater for a long time, using a tank filled with compressed air. The tank is a large metal cylinder made of steel or aluminum.
The word "scuba" is an acronym from Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.
Contents
History
In the 1600s, a diving bell would be lowered that had trapped air in it. A diver would breathe that air and swim in an and out of the bell until the air became bad. Then a heavy suit was made that had a hose attached to an air compressor on land. It was difficult to swim and not get tangled, but it was safer than the diving bell.
The first scuba systems used a heavy diving helmet with windows. Divers would walk on the seafloor instead of swimming. The regulator would send air to the helmet by hand control. Jacques Cousteau was a famous Frenchman who developed several important parts of the scuba system and made it useful. One part was a better regulator that only sent air when the diver breathed in. This let the divers go farther on one tank. It was light enough to use with fins and easily swim. He also took many underwater movies and showed people what was under the water and why it needed to be protected.
Equipment
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- Tank (one or more) containing air. The air is compressed air from the surface for most dives, but deep dives use special air with more oxygen and less nitrogen to avoid decompression sickness, also called the bends (a painful or deadly problem from going to the surface too fast).
- BCD (buoyancy control device) to control whether the diver floats or sinks. The diver can add air or remove air by using dump valves or an inflator on their regulator. Divers may also wear weights so they are neutral (float in place) at a depth they want. Then the BCD will move them up or down from that depth.
- Regulator for breathing the air from the tank. This reduces the pressure of the air coming from the tank. It adjusts the air to the pressure of the water around the diver so they can breathe easily at any depth.
- Depth gauge, to know how deep they are. There is also an air gauge to know how much air is left, and there may be other gauges or calculators as well. A safe dive depends on how long and how deep the diver goes, and how long it has been since the last dive.
Divers also use snorkeling equipment. They wear a mask to see through, a snorkel for breathing near the surface, fins on their feet to swim better, and a wetsuit to keep them warm underwater because water makes a diver cold four times as fast as air.
Certification
Running out of air or getting the bends can be dangerous, so a person must take a certification class before going scuba diving. This proves that they have been trained on how to use the equipment and dive safely. The biggest organization for certifying divers is PADI - Professional Association of Diving Instructors - but there are many others, depending on the country. Some tourist places have a short course on certification and then lead the class in a shallow dive, all in one day.
Because of special dangers, there are advanced classes for things like diving in or around underwater shipwrecks, cave diving, and deep diving (more than 60 feet or 18 meters).
Related pages
- Free diving - diving without scuba equipment (holding your breath). Snorkeling equipment is often used in free diving. No certification is needed.
Interesting facts about scuba diving
- Man has explored less than 10% of the world’s ocean floor.
- Through a dive mask, objects look about 33% larger than they are because of the flatness of the mask's lens.
- Sound travels much faster underwater than in the air, making it easy to hear underwater sounds that are far away.
- The oldest male scuba diver was William Lambert (USA, born September 5, 1920), at exactly 100 years of age.
- The most common reason why people don’t want to participate in scuba diving is the fear of sharks. Coconuts kill more people than sharks do every year (coconuts: 150; sharks: 8-12).
- A broken toe is the most common scuba diving injury.
- Even though scuba diving is considered a risky sport, someone dies only once every 211,864 dives.
- The deepest scuba dive record is 1,090 ft (332 m).
- It is important to ascend back to the ocean’s surface slowly so that nitrogen in the bloodstream has the chance to fully dissolve.
Images for kids
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Recreational scuba diver
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The undersea kelp forest of Ana Capa off of the coast of Oxnard, California
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Diver looking at a shipwreck in the Caribbean Sea.
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Sidemount diver pushing a cylinder in front
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Rebreather diver returning from a 600 ft (183 m) dive
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Diver wearing a dry suit in a lake in Finland where the water is cold
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Recreational diver putting on his scuba set before diving
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Aqualung Legend second stage (demand valve) regulator
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Aqualung first stage regulator
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Gekko dive computer with attached pressure gauge and compass
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Suunto submersible pressure gauge display
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An Inspiration electronic fully closed circuit rebreather
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A cylinder decal to indicate that the contents are a Nitrox mixture
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Nitrox cylinder marked up for use showing maximum safe operating depth (MOD)
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Diver under the Salt Pier in Bonaire
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"Shorty" style wetsuit
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Scientific divers wearing dry suits
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A scuba dive computer
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Shooting underwater video on scuba
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Diver taking photos of a shark
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Scuba diving in a cave
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Divers touring a World War II shipwreck
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US Navy SEAL divers train in 2019
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Basic diving skills training in a swimming pool
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Class IV scientific divers assembling a structure during a training exercise
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