[Suggestion] Liquid Air Upgrade for Rebreather
TotallyLemon
Atlanta Georgia Join Date: 2015-05-22 Member: 204764Members
Atlanta Georgia Join Date: 2015-05-22 Member: 204764Members
The technical term for liquid air is perfluorocarbon (PFC). PFC is a synthetic liquid fluorinated hydrocarbon. Basically, it’s a liquid that can hold three times the oxygen and four times the carbon dioxide as human blood. Also, it does wonders for cooling/heating.
Essentially the stuff is fucking amazing, especially when it comes to diving.
Humans can actually breathe PFC like it's air - a no brainer then that 200 years in the future PFC would be the standard for deep sea exploration. Imagine breathing in a watery substance, only to have the sensation of fresh air filling your lungs. The reason a liquid solution is superior to a pure gas is not only that the liquid has a greater oxygen capacity, but that the liquid prevents your lungs from imploding under extreme pressure (also you don’t have to fuck around with the nitrogen-oxygen mix crap that deep sea divers use).
Another cool thing is that the liquid ventilation (LV) can regulate body temperature. The depths are a cold and unforgiving place. It’s nice not to freeze to death. In experiments, mice could be conditioned to breathe an oxygenated saline solution, and then survive under the pressure of 160 atmospheres… that’s one mile below the surface! With a LV you could easily dive to 1600 meters. Also, there is no need for slow decompression (if such realism is implemented). With PFC in the lungs there is less worry about drastic decompression given that a person's lungs have a lower change in volume while ascending.
LV technology is realistic and based in fact. The Exosuit might very well enable great dives, but it would be nice to be able to freely swim around. LV would undoubtedly use PFC tanks and would have greater efficiency at depth. Perhaps there could be a fragment that you obtain with the aid of the Exosuit - this would enable free dives.
Anyways, feel free to give your two cents.
Essentially the stuff is fucking amazing, especially when it comes to diving.
Humans can actually breathe PFC like it's air - a no brainer then that 200 years in the future PFC would be the standard for deep sea exploration. Imagine breathing in a watery substance, only to have the sensation of fresh air filling your lungs. The reason a liquid solution is superior to a pure gas is not only that the liquid has a greater oxygen capacity, but that the liquid prevents your lungs from imploding under extreme pressure (also you don’t have to fuck around with the nitrogen-oxygen mix crap that deep sea divers use).
Another cool thing is that the liquid ventilation (LV) can regulate body temperature. The depths are a cold and unforgiving place. It’s nice not to freeze to death. In experiments, mice could be conditioned to breathe an oxygenated saline solution, and then survive under the pressure of 160 atmospheres… that’s one mile below the surface! With a LV you could easily dive to 1600 meters. Also, there is no need for slow decompression (if such realism is implemented). With PFC in the lungs there is less worry about drastic decompression given that a person's lungs have a lower change in volume while ascending.
LV technology is realistic and based in fact. The Exosuit might very well enable great dives, but it would be nice to be able to freely swim around. LV would undoubtedly use PFC tanks and would have greater efficiency at depth. Perhaps there could be a fragment that you obtain with the aid of the Exosuit - this would enable free dives.
Anyways, feel free to give your two cents.
Comments
Component list for LV tank:
-2 Jeweled Disk Pieces (may contain Fluorspar, Chlorophane, Yttrocerite, or Yttrofluorite - all natural sources of fluorite)
-2 Coral Chunks (carbon, the other component for organofluorine)
-1 High Capacity Tank
-1 Titanium
-1 Silicone
-2 Creepvine Piece
Components for LV Breather:
-1 Advanced Wiring Kit
-2 Silicone
LV involves inserting a narrow tube like device into the lungs. I’d assume this process would be automated with future technology when the mask is put on. The tube prevents buildup of excess CO2 in the lungs due to increased viscosity of the PFC fluid at extreme depth. It’s either the tube system, or having a femoral artery implant (the tube is temporary and non-invasive).
I imagine LV as a strait upgrade to regular compressed gas systems. The only downsides (balance) are a slower recharge, and slightly heavier weight (so yea, LV tanks are heavier than even the high capacity tanks). Of course, there is an additional benefit to PFC – it can prevent lung collapse from trauma and help mitigate internal bleeding (liquid in the lungs means more efficient distribution of hydrostatic shock around the body). The use of LV should have a damage reduction bonus too.
LV would have to be a fragment technology, found perhaps beyond 1000 meters... somewhere around 1500 m to 2000 m. I really began to seriously think about the implications of the Exosuit, and that if you had to bail out at depth that would be a serious problem (especially if pressure becomes part of the game's mechanics).
This would be mid-end game content.
Tank could be made out of plasteel.
Is there a drawback? Like returning to regular air? What would be the associated game mechanic for using it / stopping to use it?
What's the drawback? I am just curious, since you say this technology exists, yet to my knowledge it's not widely used by divers.
Do you remember, in The Abyss, when he gets to use it, there is a moment of sheer panic as his systems thinks he is drawning, before he realizes he can breath.
I always thought it was just a movie thing. But if that technology exists in real life, I am curious to hear how people truly adapt to it, and if you can switch to and from air/liquid with no consequences.
There is no standard practice for the application of LV. This is one reason why research has somewhat stagnated. Also, there is a big problem encountered at extreme depth with LV (one thing that The Abyss got terribly wrong). The increased viscosity of the PFC fluid under pressure causes circulation problems. Fluid begins to pool in the diver's lungs (as with the US Military experiments - lab rats). This can causes excess (lethal) CO2 buildup in the bloodstream. The lab rats could survive at a simulated depth of 2 miles... till they died from carbon dioxide poisoning (2 miles is impossible for gas systems).
To combat the viscosity, there are two methods. The one I mentioned is to physically stir/agitate/circulate fluid pooling in the lungs using a robotic device. The second is to use implants inside the body to filter out excess CO2 (IRL, proposed methods include the use of implants in the femoral arteries).
Basically, either way you're sticking some real fancy-schmancy doo-dads in your bod... tech that is all but developed right now. The principles are there; LV is perfectly OK for use at one atm, but usage at depth is another technological nut to crack.
Of course, future tech has our intrepid explorer covered. Undoubtedly, LV research continued for medical and possibly aerospace use in Subnautica's universe continuity, so there's no reason why LV couldn't be converted to diving applications.
Hope that answers the question.
I also did not know this, if I went and breathed in PFC by now I would likely be in the ER, lol.
Disclaimer, PFCs are simply chemical compounds that contain carbon-fluorine and carbon-carbon bonds. Breathing just any PFC will not make you breath under water. Some PFCs are toxic, while others are strait up acid that can burn through steel beams.
Of course, it goes without saying, people shouldn't try something just because they read it on the internet.
Also, plz help my dragons.
Since Subnautica is only a game, I wouldn't worry too much about adverse health effects. Any decent programmer can fix that.
Here's the Wikipedia entry on Liquid Breathing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_breathing
Edit: Just read the link, my brain hurts.
is jet fuel one of those PFCs that melt steal beams
Jet fuel is a hydrocarbon, so no it's not.