|
|
|
|
Diving helmet
|
| |
|
| |
diving helmet.]]
Diving helmets are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface supplied diving, though many models can be adapted for use with SCUBA equipment.
The helmet seals the whole of the diver's face from the water, allows the diver to see, provides the diver with breathing gas, provides an anchor point on the diver for the umbilical supplying the breathing gas, protects the diver's head when doing heavy or dangerous work, and provides voice communications with the surface.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Diving helmet' Start a new discussion about 'Diving helmet' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
diving helmet.]]
Diving helmets are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface supplied diving, though many models can be adapted for use with SCUBA equipment.
The helmet seals the whole of the diver's face from the water, allows the diver to see, provides the diver with breathing gas, provides an anchor point on the diver for the umbilical supplying the breathing gas, protects the diver's head when doing heavy or dangerous work, and provides voice communications with the surface. If a helmeted diver goes unconscious, the helmet will remain in place and continue to deliver breathing gas until the diver can be rescued. In contrast, the SCUBA regulators typically used by recreational divers must be held in the mouth, and will usually fall out of an unconscious diver's mouth resulting in drowning.
Many helmet designs can be sealed to the diver's suit. When worn with a drysuit, this keeps the entire head and body isolated from the surrounding liquid, giving an additional degree of warmth. In hazardous environments such as sewage or dangerous chemicals, a helmet is sealed to a special drysuit (usually made of rubber) to completely cover and protect the diver. Sealing the helmet to the suit also prevents it from flooding if the diver goes head-down in the water.
Types
Historically, deep sea diving helmets ranged from the two bolt to four bolt helmets; helmets with six, eight, or 12 bolts; and Two-Three, Twelve-Four, and Twleve-Six bolt helmets.
Notable modern commercial helmets include the Kirby Morgan Superlite-17B from 1975 and developments from that model.
Light-weight transparent dome type helmets have been used. For example the Sea Trek surface supplied system, developed in 1998 by Sub Sea Systems, is used for recreational diving.. Also the Lama, developed by Yves Le Masson in the 1970's, has been used in television to let viewers see the face and hear the voice of the presenter speaking underwater.
History
See Timeline of underwater technology#Diving helmets appear for the history of the diving helmet.
Augustus Siebe is known as the father of Diving. In the year 1837 German-born inventor Augustus Siebe, then living in England, developed a Diving Helmet which was sealed to a watertight, air-containing rubber suit. The closed diving suit, connected to an air pump on the surface, becomes the first effective standard diving dress, and the prototype of hard-hat rigs still in use today. In his obituary Siebe is described as the father of diving.
Siebe Gorman & Co was notable for developing the “closed” diving helmet of the standard diving dress and associated equipment. As the helmet was sealed to the diving suit, it was watertight, unlike the previous “open” helmet systems. The new equipment was safer and more efficient and revolutionised underwater work from the 1830s. For a brief history of Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd and the Products manufactured See .
However, Alexander McKee proposed that brothers John and Charles Deane were the true inventors, and that Siebe was the leading manufacturer of their designs.
Nowadays
An alternative to the diving helmet that allows communication with the surface is the full face diving mask.
Nowadays "diving helmet" sometimes means a hard safety helmet like a workman's helmet that covers the top and back of the head but not the face and does not keep air in and water out.
During the First World War the British Army used a few diving helmets out of water as emergency protection from mustard gas.
See also
External links
|
| |
|
|
