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Old 12th Jun 2008, 09:31
  #16 (permalink)  
mad_jock
 
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keygrip personally I wouldn't have a problem flying after what you suggested but......

The difference in pressure is 0.9Bar diving compared to 0.1Bar flying.

But the overall pressure difference is not the full story you have to look at the partial pressure of the different gases to compare. Its why nitrox works.

The whole decompression table lark was discovered by sticking goats in a chamber and seeing when they got bent. Once they sussed out what was lethal they tried out combinations on navy divers.

http://www.dive-tech.co.uk/bert%20and%20haldane.htm

Even now the whole thing is a statistical risk managment exercise.

Some tables are statistically more liable to give you a bend US navy tables from memory 1% chance and PADI 0.01%. Even the ultra cautious PADI tables have had cases of people getting bent while complying with them (usually fat and unfit and outside the research group that was used to test them).

As a note even not having dived for 48 hours plus. A rapid decompression at above 30,000ft will give at least 0.7bar drop in pressure and your into the realms of a bend being statistically possible.

There has been research into ischemic brain lesions. At Aberdeen Uni they found that Pilots have the same amount of damage as commercial divers. The whole area of decompression is still in a relatively young state. The amount of changes in methods in only the last 15 years is astounding. And now with the advent of mass recreational diving instead of a few perverts flatie bashing is creating serious amounts of data that the researchers can work with.
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