Science: Artificial Dive

Last winter a free-lance deep-sea diver and experimenter named Max Nohl had himself lowered 420 ft. to the bottom of Lake Michigan, thus making the world's deepest dive to date in a diving suit (TIME, Dec. 13).* In so doing, Max Nohl conclusively showed the value of a helium-oxygen mixture for deep diving. Helium is a light gas, requires little effort to inhale. It also seems to forestall that bugbear of divers, "the bends" (gas bubbles in the blood).

Last week, the U. S. Navy reported a successful dive to 402 ft., using...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!