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Alex Beacham
Mrs. Thomas
Expository essay
November 02, 2009
Scuba Diving
What is scuba diving? Scuba diving is a recreational activity of diving or exploring
underwater through the use of a scuba device. Scuba stands for, S (self), C (contained),
U (underwater), B (breathing), A (apparatus). Humans have been diving since man was
required to collect food from the sea. The need for air and protection underwater was
obvious. When the need for these things came about scientists began to invent new things
that made it possible for this new sport.
The need for air when underwater is crucial for a person diving, as without it the
person would drown, or be very limited as to how long they could stay down; this is why
people started to invent breathing tools. In 1650 a man by the name of Guericke
developed the first air pump. Over the years this idea of breathing underwater was
making scientists curious. In 1865 an underwater breathing apparatus was developed and
patented by Benoit Rouquayrol and Auguste Denayrouse. A steel tank filled with
compressed air was connected to a valve and a mouthpiece. The tank was strapped to the
diver’s back and the diver was tethered to the surface by a hose that pumped fresh air into
the low pressure tank. The diver was able to disconnect the tether and to dive with the
tank on his back for a few minutes. Also following this great invention was the creation
of rubber goggles with glass lenses, these goggles were developed by Guy Gilpatric.
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Soon face masks and snorkels were in common use. In 1933 Swim Fins were patented by
Louisde Corlieu in France. Later on in 1965 at the University of California the first
wetsuit was introduced by scientists and the red and white “Divers Down” flag was
introduced by Ted Nixon.
After all of the inventors and scientists put all of the basic gear for diving
together, many programs started that make it possible to safely dive today. In 1955 the
first formal instructor program was created by Al Tilman and Bev Morgan. This program
is very important because it helps divers teach other people how to dive safely. Four
years later in 1959 the YMCA organized the first Nationally Scuba Diver Certification
program and the Underwater Society of America was formed. In 1960-1961 Al Tilaman
and Neal Hess created the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and
the National Association of Skin Diving Schools (NASDS) was founded by John
Gaffney. In 1966 the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) was founded
by John Cromin and Ralph Ericson. Later on in 1980 the Divers Alert Network (DAN)
was founded at Duke University to promote safe diving. Without these extremely
important programs, divers would be untrained and it could lead to fatal consequences. In
the United States it is unlawful to rent or buy scuba equipment without being certified
through one of these programs. These programs now make sure every diver is safe by
checking all of the gear and making sure that it is kept up to date, and can withstand the
pressure underwater so that the diver won’t die due to equipment failure.
What happens when scientists have created something and want more?
Experiments happen! One of these bizarre experiments occurred in 1962 when scientists
built an underwater habitat, in California, where people actually lived. The people had
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supplies to stay down there for five months for an experiment to see how long they could
survive. Another thing that happened was that people became competitive and started
setting diving records. In 1954 Zale Parry broke the depth record by diving 64 meters
down in California. Her record had a very large impact on the women in that time, which
resulted in a large population of women start to scuba dive.
What would happen if Scuba Diving was never invented? If scuba diving was
never invented then we would not have a lot of the information about the ocean that we
have now. Also there would not be bridges or any other types of water related
construction. This world depends on scuba diving in a lot of different ways. If there was
no scuba diving then our world would be extremely different.