Scientists Just Created Crystals That Make Breathing Underwater A Possibility

This article was posted in October and when I did a search for it, I was rather surprised it hadnt been posted here. It seems to me it is ATS worthy for the scientific minds as well as members with breathing problems or members that like to dive.

A snippet from the article:

Danish scientists are a step closer to helping those suffering from respiratory ailments thanks to a revolutionary new absorption crystal. Working out of the University of Southern Denmark the group has uncovered crystalline materials that are capable of pulling oxygen out of both air and water -which could eventually mark the end of the need to carry around large oxygen tanks.

Another:

The revolutionary crystalline material can bind and store oxygen in high concentrations, then control its release time depending on what the user needs. This new discovery could even benefit deep sea divers, giving them superhero-like abilities to stay submerged for extended periods of time without an oxygen tank.

There is plenty to read about this in depth HERE

Being a diver I find this to be pretty exciting and could open a lot of doors for exploration in the big blue seas. One wouldnt have to panic if running short or air in the tanks, and if one didnt have to wear tanks at all.... well, thats a huge plus.

People with Asthma and other breathing problems may also have a much brighter future.

Question is, does this seem feasible to you folks as to how it is explained that it works?

Again, LINK TO ARTICLE HERE

But arent' there long term effects of staying underwater for many hours at a time? Not only the bends but wouldn't it affect the body in certain ways? S + F, sounds better than the Gills from Seaquest DSV.

This article was posted in October and when I did a search for it, I was rather surprised it hadnt been posted here.

Actually:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

One wouldnt have to panic if running short or air in the tanks, and if one didnt have to wear tanks at all.... well, thats a huge plus.

1) Pure oxygen is poisonous under pressure.
2) How would you expand your lungs to inhale?

a reply to: Phage

How would you expand your lungs to inhale?

Is it even necessary to expand the lungs to oxygenate the body ?

I have no understanding of how the process might work for deep sea divers with these crystals, but I'm imagining an amazing number of uses for these little suckers, both in the water and out of.


Edit to add:

My first thought was that space travel could be a huge benefactor of this stuff in terms of how much oxygen could be transported and/or regenerated for longer durations and less cargo space.

a reply to: CranialSponge

Is it even necessary to expand the lungs to oxygenate to body ?

Yes. That's why it's done artificially for those who can't breath on their own. Respiration requires two phases; inhaling provides fresh air, exhaling removes CO2 enhanced air.

To breath underwater (unless you are in a pressure vessel) the air you inhale has to be at the same pressure as the surrounding water. That is what a SCUBA regulator does, feeds you pressurized air from the tank. A simple experiment; take a garden hose to the bottom of a swimming pool and try to breath through it.

There's not enough oxygen in water to breathe it in as you would air.

a reply to: Phage
First real quick, I also thought of space and the possibilities.

So Phage, what if they could design a way for the crystals to be contained in a different kind of tank which would basically do the same thing as tanks now with regulator? Would this be feasible?

I have COPD and I approve this research...please hurry.

a reply to: Phage

Okay, but what if these crystals enable a person to inhale water via some kind of mask that gets placed over their face and mouth, oxygenate the body by breathing through the crystals like a filter, and exhale the waste product CO2 ?

Like a fetus in the uterus ?



Or am I starting to sound too sci-fi ish...

a reply to: onehuman
Maybe as sort of an improvement on rebreather technology, to carry stored oxygen to replenish that which is consumed during the dive. But you still need to breath pressurized gasses and so are still subject to decompression sickness and so bottom time wouldn't be any different than it is with current diving technology.

What about the liquid breathing technology?

a reply to: CranialSponge

Okay, but what if these crystals enable a person to inhale water via some kind of mask that gets placed over their face and mouth, oxygenate the body by breathing through the crystals like a filter, and exhale the waste product CO2 ?

Artificial gills. I don't know if the crystals would absorb and release oxygen at a high enough rate but yes, if oxygen were being produced from the water it would be at a pressure equal to the surroundings. So maybe something less heavy and bulky than SCUBA is workable.

But as I said; pure oxygen under pressure is poisonous and breathing gasses under pressure induces the factor of decompression sickness.

a reply to: cavtrooper7

What about the liquid breathing technology?

Exactly what I was thinking.

Maybe these crystals are the start of something that can regenerate itself in the liquid form, or allow the body to draw enough oxygen through the crystals... like how a fetus draws oxygen through the umbilical cord without having to expand the lungs.

a reply to: CranialSponge

like how a fetus draws oxygen through the umbilical cord without having to expand the lungs.

Yup. The mother does that though.

You're talking about diverting blood flow? A heart-lung machine without the heart part?
ceaccp.oxfordjournals.org...

Not a simple set up. Our lungs are very good at respiring air. Not so good with water.

a reply to: Phage

But as I said; pure oxygen under pressure is poisonous and breathing gasses under pressure induces the factor of decompression sickness.

Yes, that's definately a necessary work around.

They'd have to figure how to somehow create the correct artificial mixture without indundating the body with pure oxygen if you were to use these crystals as a means of just simply creating oxygen while still breathing from a pressurized tank.

I guess that's why I was thinking more along the lines of actually drawing in liquid rather than air... so long as there's the correct balance of oxygen being taken in.

I mean the Perfluorocarbon type liquids.

a reply to: cavtrooper7
If the ocean were perfluorocarbon...



(If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck,
I'd swim to the bottom and never come up.)

a reply to: cavtrooper7

But with perfluorocarbon, doesn't the oxygen deplete just like an air tank ?

Whereas if the liquid could regenerate the necessary oxygen from its surroundings, you've basically got a neverending supply.

a reply to: CranialSponge
How do you expose the liquid to the surroundings and contain it at the same time?

a reply to: Phage

Oh hell, I don't know.

Leave that one up to the smart folks to figure out...