Scuba driving history
The history of underwater diving is generally thought of as having started with the late Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan, who invented the AquaLung and its completely automated demand regulator in 1943, but the history of diving goes back much further than this, and so does the history of scuba because in the 1500s, Leonardo da Vinci designed, but never built, the first scuba system.
Scuba is a shortening of Self Contained Underwater Breathing equipment, and its invention revolutionized diving. For the 1st time folks could swim underwater like a fish, unobstructed by hoses, and without awkward and heavy gear. And for the 1st time, the diver's life didn't rely on air compressors on the ship above.
Folks have been free-diving ( holding their breath to dive ) for thousands of years, if not longer. The 1st known use of appliances underwater was the utilization of hollow reeds as snorkels around 500BC.
Over the following centuries many attempts were made to find liberty underwater and to be in a position to dive with over one lungful of air. Several submersibles were invented ,eg barrels stuffed with air, and diving bells. By 1300AD, primitive masks had also been developed.
In 1861 Englishman Aug Siebe invented the hard-hat diving rig, in which the diver wore a suit of rubberized canvas, and was held down by lead breast plates and boots made from lead. The brass or copper helmet had a tiny window and was fitted to the suit through a watertight collar. Compressed air was fed to the helmet through an air hose from the boat above. A valve authorized air to flee from the helmet, but when the valve was closed, the diver's suit crammed with air and he rose to the surface. Any kinks in the hose, or issues with the compressor on the ship, and the diver was dead.
The subsequent major invention was a metal canister of compressed air carried on the back, and a demand regulator to scale back the air pressure prior to it being breathed. This invention was the work of 2 Frenchmen : Rouquayrol and Denayrouse in 1865, and prepared the way for true underwater diving. In the 1920s and thirties masks, snorkels and fins were developed for the usage of breath-holding fishermen in the south of France, and these made the approaching scuba system practical.
Another trailblazer was a French naval officer, Yves Le Prievr, who developed a light-weight air tank and regulator used with a full facial. He started the first diving club, in 1935. This invention was followed in 1943 with the AquaLung and its totally automated regulator. The age of scuba had arrived, and divers were eventually at liberty to explore the underwater world.
The first course of instruction in underwater diving was set up in 1955, and the 1st instructors were licensed in 1959 by NAUI ( National Association of Underwater Instructors ), which was then the sole course available.
Later associations like PADI ( Pro organization of Diving Instructors ) followed, till today there are more than ninety diving associations.
Over time since the 1st AquaLung, scuba swimming apparatus has continually developed, becoming lighter, more effective, and safer. Initially there were no air pressure gauges, and the only possible way to determine if your air was running out was if it became tough to breathe. Today there are gauges little enough to wear on the wrist, and no diver would be without a depth and air pressure gauge. There were no diver's watches or compasses in the early days, and the first tanks were much heavier than today's making it physically tricky or not possible for many individuals to dive. Today, scuba gear is much lighter and more content, and a wide selection of accessories is available. There are even underwater dive PCs to observe each parameter of the dive.Scuba is now a world-wide sport that nearly anybody can enjoy, and it has given us true liberty to explore the underwater world.