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Water has density and weight. The deeper you dive the more water you have pushing against your body. Think of it like this young padawans: You place a book on your head, no big deal. For every foot that your imagination takes you deeper on a dive add one book. Is that stack of books getting heavy yet? Well if you imagined yourself diving to 130' (FSW) then that stack of books would have weighed in at 130' x .445lbsPerSqInch (book/foot) = 57.85 lbs. 130 being the depth of water in feet salt water (FSW), .445 being the weight of one foot of salt water (one book). The answer is the weight of water (books) measured over the area of one square inch. When you dive, you have the weight of all of the water over you, plus the weight of the earths atmosphere exerting pressure on you (the atmosphere is often neglected, but is of importance). The example of the books that I used is a little innaccurate though. In that example the weight is only being placed on one square inch of your head. In diving however, that force would exist over every square inch of a divers body. You can see how these numbers can add up, and you would think would severely limit the diver. However the body is primarily fluid which is not compressable. Those parts of the body which are compressable (Sinuses, Middle Ear, Respiratory tract, Lungs) are easily equalized with ambient pressure through training and or past experience. If you are wondering how I know what one foot of sea water weighs per square inc h, simply multiply .445lbs (one foot SeaH2o) times 144 (inches in a square foot)= 64 lbs which is the equivalent to the weight of one Cubic foot (ft3) of sea water.

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16y ago
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9y ago

Because water isn't massless, and all the water above you is pushing down on you.

Read below only if you're still unsure:

Imagine a pile of rocks. The deeper you are, the more they squeeze you.

That explains the vertical squeeze. But why does the horizontal pressure increase as well? Because the rocks to your left and right are under more vertical pressure, so there is more force to push them aside, push them into you.

With water there is no friction so the pressure in all directions is equal. If you "squeeze" a fluid, it will try to expand back in all directions regardless of gravity. (But water does not squeeze very much.)

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13y ago

It is all about the weight of water. The deeper you go the more weight is placed on you and because you are actually displacing space in the water the pressure is equalized around you.

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7y ago

Water pressure is greater at a depth of 20 feet than a depth of 10 feet because there is more water pressing down from above the further underneath the water you are.

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14y ago

Because of the weight of the water above.

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Q: Why does water pressure increase as you dive deeper?
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How does fluid pressure change with depth?

Pressure changes very easily. The deeper that you go there is more pressure. For example, when you dive into the ocean, there is not only a whole sky-worth of air pushing down on you, but you are also being pressured by the tons of water above you. On the flipside, when you travel to a greater altitude, pressure decreases. For exapmle, when you climb a mountian, there is less air above you pushing down on you then there is on sealevel.


What is the difference between hydraulic pressure and hydrostatic pressure?

Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure of a "standing liquid" and hydraulic pressure is the pressure in a fluid system that is being acted on by a compressor or pump. Let's look more closely. Let's say we're on a boat on the ocean and we slide over the side and into the water. We can feel the water pressure on us. As we move deeper into the water, that is, we dive deeper, the hydrostatic pressure increases. If we took ping pong balls with us as we dove deeper, they'd eventually be crushed by hydrostatic pressure. The pressure can be looked at as the weight of the water column (due to its height) on whatever is submerged. In a hydraulic system, a pump pressurizes the system to some level set by the controller and the safety (pressure release) systems. Some systems operate at pressures that are out of sight because they are so high. The hydraulic pressure is "artificial" in that a pump created it, and hydrostatic pressure is "natural" and is created by the weight of the column of the liquid creating it.


What happens to the air molecules in a divers lungs as the pressure increases during a dive?

As the diver descends deeper into the water, the pressure increases. This causes the air molecules in the diver's lungs to compress, leading to a decrease in volume. In order to maintain equilibrium with the increasing pressure, the air molecules in the lungs will be forced into smaller spaces, potentially causing discomfort or injury if not managed properly through controlled breathing techniques.


Why do people that want to go deep underwater need a submarine or dive bell?

The pressure of the water that deep would crush a person.


Does water cover our bodies?

Yes - when we dive.

Related questions

Why are you having ear pain when you dive under the sea?

The deeper u go the more water pressure there is pushing in on your eardrums


Why scuba divers experience a higher pressure at the bottom of the sea than on the surface of the earth?

This is mainly do to the pressure that the water above the diver is putting on the diver. On the surface air is putting pressure on you but it has less weight than water and as you dive deeper the pressure increases because the amount of water above you also increases.


Why can a whale dive deeper than a submarine?

The whale is flexible. The submarine is not, and is therefore subject to crushing from the pressure.


Why is it dangerous for human dive deep into the ocean?

there is higher pressure the deeper you travel into the ocean. this pressure is detrimental to health. also breathing is an issue.


Can they dive deeper than another bird?

can they dive deeper than a nother bird? yes they can


Why is it that when diving in a lake the deeper the dive the cooler the water?

Its farther from the surface where the sun reflects.


Why is air pressure low on top Mount Everest?

Because the higher you go, the less amount of air is it above you, pushing down. Just like water pressure is no big deal at the Surface, but gets bigger the deeper you dive.


How do you swim deeper in the water when you are in wolf form in Zelda twilight princess?

you cant dive as a wolf


What do scuba divers use to tell how far down they are?

scuba divers use pressure meter because the deeper down you go the more pressure builds upAdditiona depth gauge or a dive computer


How does fluid pressure change with depth?

Pressure changes very easily. The deeper that you go there is more pressure. For example, when you dive into the ocean, there is not only a whole sky-worth of air pushing down on you, but you are also being pressured by the tons of water above you. On the flipside, when you travel to a greater altitude, pressure decreases. For exapmle, when you climb a mountian, there is less air above you pushing down on you then there is on sealevel.


Is deeper an adverb?

Yes, deeper can be an adverb. (e.g. dive deeper) However, the equivalent adverb "more deeply" is sometimes appropriate.


Why is a kingfisher is called a kingfisher?

It is to help them dive deeper into the water and capture/hunt their prey.