Dive Science

Water bends light, swallows colour and carries sound too fast to place. Most of what feels strange underwater is just physics doing what it always does, and knowing why makes you a calmer diver. Start with the altitude article if you dive from Johannesburg — it changes your tables.
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  • 4 min read

Why You Can't Tell Where Sound Is Coming From Underwater

Sound travels 4.5x faster underwater, which sounds useful until you realise it destroys your ability to tell which direction it's coming from. Here's the physics behind directionless hearing underwater.

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  • 5 min read

"Oxygen in My Tank": The Myth, and Why Divers Never Actually Breathe Pure Oxygen

"Oxygen tank" is one of diving's most persistent myths. Here's what's actually in your cylinder, and why pure oxygen becomes toxic at just 4-6 metres.

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  • 5 min read

Altitude Diving Physics: Why Johannesburg Changes Your Dive Tables

Johannesburg's elevation quietly changes the physics of every dive. Here's why altitude steepens the pressure gradient, shortens no-decompression limits, and why your computer setup actually matters.

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  • 5 min read

Why Everything Looks Bigger and Closer Underwater

Everything really does look about a third bigger and a quarter closer underwater. Here's the physics behind the illusion, and why it flips at longer range.

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