The Aqua-Lung


Humanity has always wanted to go places they didn't see before, to explore, and to know everything possible. The oceans and seas are a great example (even though a large portion of them are still undiscovered!) to this, and for this humans have invented many devices to help with this mission. 



Before the aqualung, the best tool to work underwater was the diving suit and helmet. They were heavy, and needed a hose that ran to an air compressor on land or a boat. These had been used for almost 100 years before this invention.



The Aqua-Lung was the first open-circuit scuba to reach worldwide popularity and commercial success. (In fact, the name used for the aqualung is SCUBA, meaning Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. This is where scuba diving comes from.)


 












Aqua-Lung is the brand of air regulator, which can be attached to gas tanks. (This is a pressure regulator that controls the pressure of breathing gas for diving. This kind of regulator is now commonly referred to as a "diving regulator".) 


The Aqua-Lung was invented in France during the winter of 1942–1943, by me and engineer Émile Gagnan . It allowed us to film and explore more easily underwater, making it simpler for us to make our documentaries.


 





While testing the invention, we discovered the risks of deep sea diving. If we went too deep, we would get nitrogen narcosis-which causes crazy behavior. If we came up too fast, we would get "the bends"- intense pain from expanding nitrogen bubbles in blood.





The original "Aqua-Lung" was an "open-circuit" design (so-called because gas flows from the cylinder, to the diver, out into the water). Other scuba systems that were invented before the "Aqua-Lung" were "closed circuit" (also known as rebreathers). In these apparatuses, breathing gas flows from the cylinder to the diver, through a scrubber (which removes carbon dioxide), back to a secondary bag or counter-lung, and then back to the diver again, in a closed loop.


 



Despite the hardships, we worked hard to make our invention as good as possible, and here we are, 77 years from then- the Aqualung still going strong, being developed and widely used in diving activities...




 To add to this, with the diving sector is still being improved to be as efficient as possible, who knows what could be discovered in the seas, and what things could be filmed underwater. 





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