human bodies in deep sea environments

[MaddMaxx]

This concept blew my mind in physics:

Question
You have a rubber balloon with a string attached to it, and a weight attached to the other end of the string. You put just the right amount of air in the balloon such that if you submerge the balloon and weight under water to a depth of 30 feet, the balloon will not rise or sink (its buoyancy force is exactly balanced by gravity).

You then pull the balloon and weight down another 30 feet. If you let the balloon go at this depth, will it rise or sink?
Assume that the water temperature is the same at both depths.


Answer
The balloon will sink. At a depth of 60 feet, the water pressure is greater than it is at 30 feet (by about 15 psi). Because of this, the balloon will shrink, causing the balloon/weight system to increase in density (the total volume is smaller while the total mass stays the same). Since the system is now more dense than it was at 30 feet, it will sink.
Also important is the fact that since water is pretty much incompressible, the water density at both depths will be about the same.

Question copied from: http://www.braingle.com/brainteasers/teaser.php?op=2&id=13531&comm=0

I have to assume the same holds true for the human body, the air in our lungs (and any other gases in our system) act like a balloon making us buoyant, but if pulled to a sufficient depth somehow, would compress our bodies and gases making them more dense and therefore "sink".

 

[DariusAmurdarja]

true...

now imagine you are not "behind" the Titanic but inside her. Titanic picked up almost 28knots while falling down into the abyss. The stern was still filled with air. While she went down the water imploded through the windows and portholes. The pressure inside did reach extreme levels in a very short time. I think nothing can be compared with the horror you would face inside her.

 

[plecostic]

What gets me about the Titanic is most if not all of the people on board could have easily survived had they calmly just got on the life boats. What a waste panic is, these idgets did not deserve to survive and apparently the ocean thought so as well. They was plenty of time to get everyone off. I call the Titanic a Comedy not a tragedy.

 

[DariusAmurdarja]

What gets me about the Titanic is most if not all of the people on board could have easily survived had they calmly just got on the life boats. What a waste panic is, these idgets did not deserve to survive and apparently the ocean thought so as well. They was plenty of time to get everyone off. I call the Titanic a Comedy not a tragedy.

Not quite true. Titanic was sinking slowly for the massive damage she had. That proves her excellent design. Her lifeboat systems on the other side were a complete failure. She had not enough for all passengers. If all 20 boats would have been filled till the last place, then around half of the 2200 passengers could have been saved. Many boats left almost empty.

Beside that, there was no panic on the Titanic. People stayed calm because the ship did not show any indications for trouble. People went inside and some denied to go into such a small and "unsafe" lifeboat". Most survivors say, the panic started as the bridge was flooded.
Edith Harth said, that was the moment when she realized: "I´m in the middle of the ocean. The ocean is my enemy. The only thing that holds me alive is the Titanic. The Titanic is dieing. There is no place for me to run and hide...

 

[krichardson]

What gets me about the Titanic is most if not all of the people on board could have easily survived had they calmly just got on the life boats. What a waste panic is, these idgets did not deserve to survive and apparently the ocean thought so as well. They was plenty of time to get everyone off. I call the Titanic a Comedy not a tragedy.

Have you ever been aboard a sinking ship with your loved ones?

 

[robmcd]

I guess so too. I don´t want know how those people did look like...

On a side note, the olympic class liners were known to create a very strong suction when moving. The RMS Olympic (Titanis sister ship) sucked a war shem, the Hawk into her side. The Titanic sucked the Oceanic and New York while dring fast close by. It was only a few feet space between them left. When you imagine that she pulled big liners with her suction which were hundreds of feet away you can imagine what she did to human bodies.

So I guess what you are really trying to say is, that the Titanic sucked, right ??