/sci/ - Science & Math

The health effects of exposure to cosmic rays are, by now, relatively well known. Less well known is the full extent to which deep saturation affects humans. The deepest saturation ‘dive’ took place on land in a hyperbaric chamber as part of an experiment conducted by Comex in 1992. A diver was gradually acclimated to the air pressure equivalent of exposure to ocean water at 2,300 feet.[4] Just as cosmic ray exposure primarily affects the CNS, so too does exposure to high pressure. Apollo era astronauts suffer from cataracts as a result of their radiation exposure on the way to the moon as well as other sensory defects, impaired motor control, and even marked behavioral changes as non-trivial amounts of brain cells are destroyed by ionizing radiation.

The undersea equivalent is Nitrogen Narcosis, or “rapture of the deep” and the wide variety of different symptoms that manifest themselves with increasing depth. The shallow water symptoms are actually extremely pleasant; At 50 feet, considered to be the maximum safe depth for breathing a normal air mixture for long periods (115 feet being the short term limit for scuba diving) the effects are similar to intoxication. This is why the shallow water effects of NN are often called “The Martini Effect”. Aquarius aquanauts experience this for their entire stay and report a greater sense of wellbeing, deeper and more restful sleep, a propensity to laugh at even unfunny jokes and a diminished capacity for aggression. This explains in part why undersea living is so attractive and addictive to those who have experienced it and why some might wish to do so fulltime. The health effects, such as a tripled rate of healing and more restful sleep are attributable mainly to the higher oxygen content in the compressed air, the rest owe to the effects of higher air pressure on the permeability of neurons, but more on that later.

Notice how these men don't seem to be experiencing any of that challenge or difficulty you mentioned. They're at ease, living as effortlessly as on land, because the challenge was in the one-time design of the structure, as with any other machine. We use machines daily designed to make challenging, difficult things simple and convenient for us. It's not a meaningful objection to the proposition of living underwater.