Why is quickly going from 1 to 9 atm dangerous?

Question

I was reading about the Byford Dolphin accident and I don’t understand why the pressure change caused so much damage

In: 0

Answer 1

At 1 ATM you have almost 15 lbs per square inch of pressure pushing in on you. You have equal pressure inside pushing out. At 9 ATM that amounts to almost a 120 lbs per square inch difference. It is enough to make you explode. Or, if you go the other way you’ll implode.