Atmospheric Diving Suit

ocean · engineering · deep diving · protection

Armored submarine suit. An atmospheric diving suit is like a personal submarine shaped like a suit of armor. It keeps the diver safe inside at normal air pressure, no matter how deep they go in the ocean.

No decompression needed. Unlike regular deep divers, people in these suits don't need to decompress (slowly rise to avoid the bends). They can stay at crushing depths and come straight back up because the suit protects them from pressure changes.

Reaches extreme depths. Divers can go down to 2,300 feet (700 meters) underwater in these suits and stay there for many hours. That's as deep as many skyscrapers are tall, but upside down.

Regular air inside. The suit keeps one atmosphere of pressure inside at all times, so divers breathe normal air instead of special dangerous gas mixtures that can cause nitrogen narcosis (a confused, dizzy feeling).

Joints and movement. The suit has special pressure-tight joints that bend and move just like your elbows and knees, so divers can use their arms and legs even though they're sealed inside metal armor.