How does a scuba diver’s oxygen tank last for ~1 hour but an astronaut’s lasts ~6-8 hours when both tanks are around the same size?
In: Technology
Scuba divers operate on a “total loss” system. The tanks contain plain air, and they breathe in a breath, and when they exhale it gets released as bubbles. Also, Scuba divers are supplied air at the same pressure as their surroundings, pressure underwater increases by 1 atmosphere every 33 feet, so you go through your air faster the deeper you go. I have made tanks last almost 2 hours on shallow dives by breathing slowly.
Astronauts tanks contain pure oxygen, their suits and life support systems contain complex computers and instruments which monitor oxygen levels and co2 levels in the air in their suit. As oxygen gets low, they add more from the tank, and as co2 gets high, it gets scrubbed out.
Some very advanced scuba divers use a re-breather which is similar in concept to what astronauts use.
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