Jethro Tull - Aqualung

[Mike]

Aqualung - Songfacts

A portable breathing apparatus for divers, consisting of cylinders of compressed air strapped on the back, feeding air automatically through a mask or mouthpiece, (trade name Aqua-Lung) that lets divers breathe under water; scuba is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.

•There are 9 million certified divers in America.

Recreational diving- (0-35 meters)

The gas in the aqua-lung is compressed tightly,

when a diver inhales in a full breath of air, it is equal to two full breaths at the surface, hence if you held your breath at 10 meters and quickly surfaced you would likely pop.

Technical Diving - (deeper than 35 meters)

This definition is derived from the fact that breathing regular (A mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of) air while experiencing pressures greater than those at 120 feet or deeper causes a progressively increasing amount of impairment due to (Confused or stuporous state caused by high levels of dissolved nitrogen in the blood) nitrogen narcosis. This increases the level of risk and training required. This is a fairly conservative definition of technical diving.

Technical dives may alternatively be defined as dives with durations long enough to require mandatory decompression stops, which may optionally be performed using enriched (A nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust) oxygen breathing gas mixtures such as nitrox or pure oxygen. This definition is derived from the fact that metabolically inert gases, such as (A common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues) nitrogen and (A very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in Texas and Kansas)) helium, in the diver's breathing gas are absorbed into body tissues when breathed under high pressure. These dissolved gases must be allowed to release gradually from body (A soft thin (usually translucent) paper) tissues to prevent (Pain resulting from rapid change in pressure) decompression sickness or the bends. This form of diving implies a much larger reliance on redundancy and training since it is no longer physiologically safe to make a direct ascent to the surface in the case of any problems underwater.

Technical dives may also be defined as being to depths requiring the use of hypoxic breathing gas mixtures such as trimix, heliox, and heliair. This definition is derived from the fact that breathing a mixture with the same oxygen concentration as is found in (A mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of) air (roughly 21%) at depths greater than 180 feet / 55 meters results in a very rapidly increasing risk of severe symptoms of oxygen toxicity. These symptoms can include visual and auditory hallucinations, loss of muscle control, full body seizures, and loss of consciousness.

Technical dives are often referred to dives with a ceiling phohibiting a direct ascent to the surface, it can either be a mandatory stop (decompression obligation) or a physical ceiling (diving under ice, inside a wreck or a cave).

Technical divers may also use various forms of less common diving equipment to accomplish their goals. Typically technical dives involve significantly longer durations than average recreational scuba dives. Technical divers therefore increase their supply of available breathing gas by either connecting multiple high capacity diving cylinders and/or by using a rebreather. The technical diver may also carry additional cylinders, known as stage bottles, to ensure adequate breathing gas supply for decompression with a reserve for bail out in case of failure of their primary breathing gas.

-and also...

The title track of 1971 album of the same name, which concerns a homeless ephebophile with a breathing problem - hence the title "Aqualung". It is a concept album only in so much as the first side of the LP vinyl record seems to be concerned with the same character, Aqualung. Side Two revolves around a somewhat different theme of alienation from organized religion. ...

[bazooka]

ephebophile ?

That's one I had to look up.

Since the poor old sod is "eyeing little girls with bad intent", pedophile is maybe a better specification for Aqualung.

[Ken]

Mike, you are ready to dive. Report immediately to your nearest PADI shop and commence to divin', Bro.

Ken!

[Mike]

Thanks, I have been enamored with the deep for a long, long time. Whether it be reading about it, watching sci-fi about it or just the history about it. It it is, after-all, our inner space.

I still think I very well will sky-dive before I scuba dive. The whole idea of doing something outside the human "platform" is forever intriguing to me.