As I was brainstorming possible topics for my next blog, I began to think of interesting things that I wish humans could do. Things like flying and becoming invisible. I decided to Google “will humans ever be able to breathe underwater.” I wasn’t expecting to find anything but I found something very fascinating. I learned that underwater breathing my actually become a possibility.
Scientists from the University
of Southern Denmark have developed crystals that can “store oxygen in high concentrations.” This basically means that they can take a rooms worth of oxygen and transform it into a box of crystals. Professor Christine McKenzie led a study in which they found that 10 liters of microscopic grains could successfully “suck the Roxy ten out of a room.” She said “In the lab, we saw how this material took up oxygen from the air around us.” Not only can the material take oxygen from the air, but can also take oxygen from water. If scuba divers could use these crystals instead of air tanks then they would be able to explore the water for longer periods of time. As of right now, the material can only hold pure oxygen. Unfortunately, humans breathe a mixture of oxygen and other natural gases. The next step is to take this newly found mechanism and adjust it to fit our specific oxygen constraints.
Underwater breathing isn’t the only possibility that comes with these crystals. Patients who are forced to carry oxygen tanks around for their lungs can take these crystals. This is a lighter, simpler alternative to a heavy oxygen tank. A few grains of crystals hold enough oxygen for one breath. While that isn’t a lot, these crystals constantly recycle the oxygen around them so these few grains are really all one would need. Imagine a sponge. Sponges can constantly absorb and release water without having to stop.
“The crystalline material changes color when absorbing or releasing oxygen. Crystals are black when they are saturated with oxygen and pink when the oxygen has been released.” – collective-evolution.com
The developed material has a crystalline structure. Through x-ray diffraction, the scientists were able to analyze the atom arrangement inside the material when oxygen was and wasn’t present. Metal cobalt is an “essential component” int his new material. This “controls the process of absorption.”
So yes, scientists have developed a way to create a practically unlimited supply of oxygen. Being able to swim underwater while still breathing is a huge possibility. Not only that, but this has the ability to change peoples lives. People with sick lungs can travel without lugging an oxygen tank and humans can explore the depths of the ocean with little to no trouble at all.
I was very fascinated by this article. I already knew of a way scientists could take an oxygen molecule, and coat it in a fatty substance for transport, meaning you could get your oxygen through an IV. I liked your design better, because it is a circular system. Because it is a closed system, they waste product becomes your use product, and the whole system works with itself. Did you see the Star Wars episode where obi wan is underwater and has that little chip in his mouth to breathe? http://youtu.be/tXTFdDrd7pA
I think that what that was illustrating was along the same concept. I also heard that seals use a tank that filters their expended breath through some rocks, which release oxygen, which is then breathed in. This process limits the bubbles coming up to the surface, keeping your presence a secret. I could also see a large use for military applications, especial ones involving a chemical attack. Instead of gas masks filtering the air, you could use these crystals to produce pure oxygen. These rocks sound almost too good to be true