How the Body Reacts to Pressure | BBC Earth Science

Greg Foot is under pressure as he and an inflatable friend attempt to dig to Australia.
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Secrets of Everything
No query about life or the universe is too random or silly for science adventurer Greg Foot. Using brilliantly simple lo-fi demonstrations, hi-tech kit and extreme stunts Greg turns non-scientists into eager enthusiasts and reveals just how mysterious and incredible our world really is.
Welcome to BBC Earth Lab! Here we answer all your curious questions about science in the world around you. If there’s a question you have that we haven’t yet answered let us know in the comments on any of our videos and it could be answered by one of our Earth Lab experts.

[@EmpressSunshinesMother]

Anyone else here to gain a better understanding of what may have happened to the missing submersible that went to the Titanic site?

[@yakitajohnson7804]

Yeah a painful way to go 😢

[@TT-fr7gz]

@@yakitajohnson7804terribly painful. RIP. 😟

[@xx_z.bruh_xx6916]

Yeah can't imagine the terror they felt... especially if you know whats happening if your ignorant at least you are just confused but knowing before hand as its about to happen is the stuff of nightmares

[@goldnnchild4520]

@@xx_z.bruh_xx6916that depth once they were exposed to that amount of pressure they would have been reduced to atoms before they could even blink. They would literally be here one second and gone before the next. Not nearly enough time for their brains to register any pain

[@Lexie2107]

​​@@goldnnchild4520i m here due to my lack of understanding exactly. I know the pressure down deep it s very high ,but i try to understand what exactly happens to a human body. So ...lets see if I get it properly. Once they ve been exposed to the environment, they simply have been vanished ,like....their bodies have been blown away like literally vaporized??

[@Unpacked_Mind]

That doll must have been an interesting thing to write off as a 'company' purchase.

[@damian9303]

Don't worry, it came from this guy's closet of secret items to keep away from the kids.

[@tmi6044]

😂

[@trixiepixie-sn6le]

It's the norm at the BBC!

[@MochaMaknMoney]

Who else is here because of the the Titan Submersible?

[@wendellgreenidge3362]

That seems like a stupid question

[@2400jets]

@@wendellgreenidge3362Fr lol we’re all here bc of the Titan

[@harryballsacky]

NOPE, I LOVE BLOW UP DOLLS

[@louieisthename6696]

no, we are here for john…

[@harryballsacky]

@user-rv4md3vw9b went from mountain dew..to orange crush....

[@nathantron]

He started making more sense as he talks to an inanimate object expecting a response.

[@Mr.NiceGuy80]

Titan was full of air. When the implosion occurred in a split second's time, the hull crushed like a can, the air inside was compressed to 5,800 psi in a split second which causes it to get super super hot. The bodies experiencing that sort of pressure burst open and they more or less vaporized and boiled in a split second. They never knew what was happening.

[@Olvrin]

Yeah I get that, but... they had to feel some pressure and heat before it finally snapped like a can, or not?

[@AlGibani123]

@@Olvrin no

[@omstout]

Given the way carbon fiber declaration occurs i suspect: they were simultaneously; burned, shredded, and frozen. The burn, near incinerated, as a function of Boyles Law increased pressure: increased temperature. The shredding would have been both internal as any gasses in their bodies were compressed causing cavitation injuries to tissues. The freezing as those internal gasses were forced into solution and of course the -1 Celsius water.

[@hardville]

At what point?is the question,,when they knew they had to surface because something went wrong or whether they imploded instantly the only way to find out is when or at what water level did it destruct.

[@hardville]

@@omstout why use carbon fiber above the ground if it swelters? Because it makes up for buoyancy wrong! Not in hall frame material!🤬 I hate stupid nincompoops

[@rikudouray]

I'm here because of the recent titanic sub incident. I believe if curiosity was exaggerated, it will kill you. There's a limit on what humanity can do. Ocean deep/space exploration are almost the same. It's out of bounds. Been living my life with science and faith. I believe humanity can move forward with responsible innovation.

[@Aa-fg6jf]

same

[@rodrigoacosta9708]

Same here

[@jacobhendrickson8935]

Same

[@RCsFinest]

For right now

[@baumi1986cb]

Same

[@Toycey123]

Ailartsusa is my favourite country.

[@polpottopg]

He had to spell it backwards

[@alfredogomez1968]

Bungebab Squarepaps ???

[@ZeranZeran]

@@polpottopg oh shit he did pretty good actually

[@adamwigley9738]

@@ZeranZeran Yeah I didn't hear the backwards part til I read the other guy's comment lol

[@GregFoot]

Wow my voice really did go super high! I found this experiment VERY interesting. I won't be trying to dig to Australia anytime soon that's for sure! (& yes there's also the problem of the extreme heat as you dig down too, but even if you could somehow line the tunnel with something theoretically heat proof, this intense pressure would scupper your plans!)

[@lockhrt999]

+Greg Foot What was the highest atmospheric pressure?

[@Jaqen-HGhar]

+EdgeOfSanity I don't know if it's the same effect as a brain injury but with a brain injury you can tell the word is misspelled but you just can't retrieve the information.

[@CerbrusNL]

+Greg Foot "Write australia backwards": I'd just have written it right to left ;-) Although I'm not sure one could come up with that under those conditions.

[@Jaqen-HGhar]

***** No problem. I have TBI so it happens a lot and another thing that has happened is the same kind of math problem in the video don't know what I'd do without spell check and a calculator. I used to be a web developer. I also leave out random words without realizing it. It's crazy how easy it is to mess the brain and we take it for granted that we are who we are not because our brains say so but because of some other part of us.

[@dougherzz7024]

You sounded like James Blunt

[@LulzRoyce]

That first shot of him walking into a small room with a blow-up doll, holding it by the neck and setting it down on the chair - just PERFECT.

[@jerwindejesus7647]

And you he says: "deeper and deeper down in your hole"

[@supermariosupermayhem]

The highest pressure ever tested on a human was 71bar (1030 psi or 700 meters underwater) on Theo Mavrostomos in a pressure chamber. He was breathing only 0.4% oxygen, the remaining being helium and hydrogen. 0.4% of oxygen might seem way too low but what really matters is oxygen partial pressure (Pressure times percentage of O2). Our lungs are designed to work with 0.21 bar of oxygen partial pressure. Too much of it causes oxygen poisoning that can be fatal.

[@teresashinkansen9402]

Seems someone read Wikipedia, or parroted what someone else parroted. Still interesting for someone who does not know,

[@redprince3158]

spin the knob round see what happens

[@1003willy]

​@@teresashinkansen9402you will learn this in scuba diving class 😆 everyone who wants to scuba dive has to know this

[@vairoxx4031]

helium is also used as a breathing gas for deep sea exploration but hydrogen... holy moly haha

[@supermariosupermayhem]

@@vairoxx4031 Hydrogen is also used, as long as there is no enough oxygen to react with. The aim is to provide different gases (instead of two) to avoid HPNS (when the guy become dizzy, but in worse) caused when there is too much of one gas

[@blizzbee]

I'm so glad the cameraman can keep himself sane all through that duration and film all this to us 😅😅👍

[@ryanbuckner2405]

The titan submersible was over 3,000 meters down when it imploded today. I would imagine the crew were instantly vaporized. Rip to the 19 year old kid that didn’t want to go, but was pressured into it by his wealthy father.

[@TaterTotsNFanta]

Just insult someone's balls and they'll do anything lol

[@Rob-gf3pb]

How do you know the boy was pressured

[@ivandjones]

@@Rob-gf3pb 3000 meters does that to you

[@rootbeermcgee]

@@Rob-gf3pb it was said he was hesitant to but went because it was Father's Day

[@xZazax]

@@rootbeermcgeeomg you’re right it was Father’s Day. So he probably felt extra pressured all while being terrified. My heart is aching for the 19 year old 💔 R.I.H to everyone who lost their life.

[@fabriceras9562]

For anyone curious as to how you can calculate water pressure yourself....the formula is; Pressure = hpg where; h = height/depth of water column, p = density of water(approx 1000kg/m3), g = gravitational acceleration ( approx 9.81N/m2). The value you get will be in Pascals, Pa. (1 Pa = 0.000415 Psi)

[@danieldavis8607]

Thank you for explaining this.

[@jasonr375]

So someone living outside the state would have to drive to Pennsylvania to get the results?

[@bodhisattva2348]

Instead of giving us information that is going to fry our brains, why don't you explain to me, in dummy form, what hell is going on in this video. 🤔

[@fabriceras9562]

@@bodhisattva2348 basically for every 300 ft deeper or so you go into the ocean ,you will experience the weight of an elephant stepping on you from all directions (assume the weight of the elephant is on avg 5000kg or about 11000lbs)

[@bodhisattva2348]

@@fabriceras9562 ok, I understand that 🙂

[@danielrosie1812]

Is that doll from your personal collection 😂

[@st_us]

Is that you John?

[@Litany_of_Fury]

+stilkus We are all John.

[@caitthenerd7470]

+Technitium Be gone, tumblr fiend!

[@tedanimations8177]

I was literally just about to comment that

[@seemlyme]

Daniel Rosie It is adult ...

[@JuicingDailyTV]

The air isn't gone from John, it's still there, it's just compressed... Very good explanation

[@katzspooner12]

Indonesian submarine naggala 402 was found sank 800meters deep into ocean off Bali today.The sub was split in half and all 53 occupants were announced dead. May they all rest in peace. Love from fellow neighbor, Malaysia to all the families and Indonesia

[@mikaaimar9253]

Badan mereka hancur ke?

[@aliabu863]

@@mikaaimar9253 kemungkinan besar iya

[@fajr1695]

Di umbar teros

[@l.ch.6447]

Not in half, worse.. split into 3 parts.

[@raymendez3403]

Came here to learn more about ocean depth pressure because of this incident. May they rest in peace. If the submarines deep down couldn't handle the pressure, they surely couldn't before touching the bottom, and way before the water came inside... Truly horrific events

[@JarelTheArtist]

here to heal my Titan Titanic Trauma

[@tigerclaw88]

Same lol

[@jamesparkerone]

Bet this has had a bump in views recently .

[@NuclearNuke41]

The Submarine called Titan: "Bro, it's a cannon event".

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

Oh man, the idea of this happening to me is terrifying. There isn't much I'm afraid of, but when hearing Greg's compressed voice made me feel trapped.

[@rachamreddycharanreddy7671]

Your voice actually become like Donald duck

[@beandopepp1793]

I came here after the near definite implosion of the Titan Submersible at approx 3300m depth on the way to visit the Titanic in June 2023. I was curious to see what increasing pressure could look like. This video 100% didn't satisfy the full extent of that, but it was interesting. The terror of the decreased oxygen

[@haydn5789]

​@@beandopepp1793Just did the exact same 👍🏻

[@robertgarcia185]

Your not the only you that did

[@hightolerance8728]

@@robertgarcia185man cam Here after hearing about that titanic vessel imploding. What happen to that blow up doll is what happened to those guys HOLLLY

[@daintydollyx]

my teacher should make us watch this for the physics class on pressure, it made me understand pressure due to fluid in a snap.

[@duyguhatunalkan3779]

My morbid curiosity from the Titan tragedy brought me here.

[@dudksjj7483]

same bro

[@happygolucky1602]

Yes I'm also for the same reason here

[@rigogarcia2308]

RIP to the life’s declared lost in the Titan Sub today June 22, 2023. May their souls rest and parish

[@LectronCircuits]

This is the absolute essence of working under pressure. Cheers!

[@AliKhan-ch4om]

Who else came here after learning about the implosion of the Titanic Sub which went missing.

[@ahyn4223]

I know there’ll be a lot of us here to understand what happened on the Titan submersible, which is sad. RIP to those souls.

[@teatoxic8563]

his voice! holy cow!

[@potatoheads]

So this probably how they looked like when the Titan submarine imploded

[@911gpd]

I would love to visit Ailartsusa

[@KaoruKat]

+911gpd you mean asustralia, cuz he wrote it backwards

[@brianisme6498]

KaoruKat *Australia

[@3yearsinthemaking]

Just checking here due to the Ocean Gate Titan missing incident.

[@beauolivas7850]

The Titan tragedy has sent me into rabbit hole of these videos.

[@BAMMEDIA]

RIP to the Titan submersible 2023

[@xkero]

true

[@Teacher2Polis2XtraRice]

I feel sad for Titan passengers. RIP

[@daniel123gomes]

Anyone here after the Titan submarine???

[@Zukaarimoto]

Yup I’m here for the same reason everyone else is

[@MephLeo]

_says is starting to make sense again, proceeds to talk with rubber doll_

[@dreross]

It’s confirmed that the ocean gate people submarine imploded on Sunday, absolute insane way to die

[@thanksfernuthin]

That was great! I've done the high altitude version which can be a little dangerous. I didn't know you get loopy at high pressure as well.

[@KPops1897]

Yep nitrogen narcosis is a real risk in scuba divers as well. It’s called the martini effect and probably amplified by the fact that you’re floating around in what feels like zero gravity.

[@freeagent8225]

My best walk ever was to a pass to see K2 at 6000m😅.

[@thanksfernuthin]

@@freeagent8225 🙂This is wild. I've gotten two replies on this comment after making it 7 years ago. Then I realized... that submersible exploding! It has people looking into this stuff. Very cool!

[@annax5212]

1st question 7 x 6 = the answer to life the universe and everything

[@R0BL0W]

whatdoyougetifyoutimessixbyseven

[@brucecoulda1596]

Nice alien

[@Snow_B_Wan]

i was a little slow on this

[@Mikdeelow]

on the Titan: Water @ 5,000 psi, compressing the five men and air to the sub in

[@imvzz]

What a way to go..

[@ryandolan9526]

It’s not embarrassing. You’re just under a lot of pressure. Bazingga

[@norml.hugh-mann]

We did this in my Diver Medic (DMT) class at UTMB galveston/The Ocean Corp. in 2001. I think it was 200fsw on air for 15 minutes including the blowdown time as i guess thats the extreme exposure limit without accumulated decompression time with the treatment/dive tables they were using at the time. Got really warm, I didnt feel all that trashed but noticeably impacted.

[@tfsasori]

now i have to learn as much as i can for some reason

[@bearlyricsz]

rip to those who died in the Submersible today.

[@revenant097]

They most likely died when communication was first lost, days ago.

[@kprajat]

Really Nice video.. I appreciate you going all in on every single video you do...Keep up the good work

[@GregFoot]

Thanks!

[@TimpBizkit]

Things I wanted to try: does a flame burn bigger? E.g. does a candle burn really fiercely or with a long hot flame? Do speakers play much louder? I'm assuming a bass reflex speaker would play like it's in a box that's too small and tuned really high, but otherwise louder. Maybe an open back speaker would work best. If you take shallower breaths, can you avoid nitrogen narcosis?

[@aaronmaldonado1965]

Rip to everyone involved in the titan accident that just happened. So sad

[@aliciaroberts7416]

RIP to the Titan Five

[@tdx341]

Who's here because of Oceangate? lol

[@herrscherofgachapain6342]

Wow this is terrifying

[@equandafranklin9088]

In this year of 2023, the Titanic exploration submersible and all 5 of its passengers are confirmed dead due to catastrophic implosion. May the 5 lives be remembered and they're discoveries live on. Rest in peace.

[@hazelrobertson9415]

I'm afraid many will just remember them for their idiocy and flagrant disregard to health and safety, physics, common sense etc. The only one who will be thought of with any sympathy will be the 19 year old, Suleman, who was talked into going down to the ocean floor in nothing more than a glorified tin bath by his own father. 4 millionaires and not an ounce of native intelligence between them.

[@AstroBax]

Pressured Greg just sounds like Pewdiepie...

[@peaceonearth1971]

I think people should have seen this before they booked that trip

[@antd8259]

I guess since the Titan tragedy, we all will be stuck on these type of videos from now on.

[@MikeJohnsonman]

Ocean gate is why I’m here

[@DevinRyan]

Did oceangate bring you here?

[@munchymonk9021]

Lol no, I got here safe and not in a billion pieces.

[@nancyfancy1956]

​@@munchymonk9021I shouldn't be laughing at this.

[@maksmudry9986]

Is anyone else here because of the titanic disaster???

[@SoudagerAamer]

God knows I'm only here for the 19yr old kid who "did not" want to go.

[@Hugo2dog]

Poor Greg, he really didn't deal too well with that change of pressure. Perhaps you could explain the effect of pressure on the ear (like inside a plane) in another video and why he kept on touching his nose? It is a very interesting topic

[@daCubanaqt]

Look up eustachian tube for ear and flying part of your question.

[@licdaysi]

😢 Who is here for the missing sub on Sunday

[@shanmukh747]

Him: How're you feelin john? John: Naked

[@Prettieting_]

Soo we all here because of those rich folks huh?

[@mavisgrace5403]

Poor John, what a trooper

[@50MGG]

I would have liked you to blow upp the doll in the higher preasure so when preasure decreased he would expand and blow up :D

[@CanadianWeatherStudier]

Yes I was thinking that too (5 years later) lmao

[@LaurenSkerry]

here because interested about the Titanic sub thing. No likey!

[@nauimunoz3644]

Who else is here because of the titanic submersible incident?

[@zyrex89]

Who's here after watching about the rescue of Titan Submersible?

[@interloper28]

Oceangate anyone?

[@carlizancho2]

This is what happened to their bodies

[@alirazabhatti3970]

POV: you’re here to feel how the people who are stuck in the submarine would be surviving

[@cortster12]

Actually, no, since it would be sustained pressure inside until the sudden implosion.

[@jasonneu81]

With the higher voice he sounds exactly like "pewdiepie" tbh :'D

[@durvalfernandesinvest]

Jason Neu exactly hahaha

[@PianoPrinceOfAnime]

i came here after the submarine tragedy incident broke out

[@vinnicole240]

who's here because of Titan?

[@DrinkBeers]

RIP TO OCEANGATE.

[@DanYule55]

Why?

[@buddyrebel_Garcia]

I think because of the submarine that got crushed this past Sunday. Everyone is searching for this type of videos, which are actually pretty cool.

[@justicekay]

I'm here because of the missing Oceangate Titan submarine trying to get a better understanding of what may went down there.

[@MA-kx4oo]

Who's here from the titanic submarine crash

[@BOT_Christian]

Me too. I investigated the effect of pressure inside a Military Submarine, then the Ocean Gate Company made a small Submersible.

[@RocketPal]

💀 1. *Titan 2. Not a crash This is what you post online after getting information from cheap news articles

[@fallowsword]

the pressure of being 14 kilometers underground, the latest party craze to affect our youth.

[@Andizu1]

Rather late to reply...but while this video makes it look like a party craze, this pressure chamber has much more important functions. It is used for divers suffering from decompression sickness, but also, way more importantly, for post-op cancer patients to speed up recovery because of the increased ability to take in oxygen.

[@bayek9869]

We get it people. Everyone is coming here because of the submersible.

[@noobscience]

This video is underrated.

[@juliusnatividad845]

im here because of the titan sub, just curious how the pressure deep and deep down can affect the body.

[@AnupomAG]

KZbin sure knows what to recommend

[@armyforlife3191]

The Titan’s passengers had it worse but quick, in milliseconds

[@xkero]

atleast it was really quick.. they probably felt no pain or very little pain at the very end

[@ieo92]

Who came here after learning about the implosion of Oceangate Titan?

[@x1928]

Here to understand Titan Gate

[@rahahidou3319]

Who is here to see how did the men on ocean gate Titan submarine felt

[@melodymacken9788]

Never thought I'd be interested in watching something like this...

[@humanbeing8855]

Thank you for this experiment and to help us understand science better.🙏

[@SuikodenPlayer]

Rip x 5

[@jacobjacob7055]

Anybody watching after titan submarine lost in Ocean?

[@ggyoulost8611]

uhh yeah those bodies definitely did not have a slow death.

[@lunarvice]

Who’s here because of what’s going on now with that sub with a controller?

[@GeloSantos]

Me

[@pablodebella7695]

so being in a submarine that implodes is like being crushed in every direction, crazy

[@Jkay400x]

It's crazy that youtube's algorithms throwing you informative videos according to current situation.

[@kaeosfactory]

My question is, if a human was born and raised in those conditions. would he be relatively smarter and more focused and stronger when exposed to normal conditions that we live in? would the effects be enough to allow him to live longer? hmmm..

[@sierrasinclair5745]

I’m pretty sure they would die

[@10n0]

​@@sierrasinclair5745 Lmao

[@Philanazoie]

@@sierrasinclair5745I’m cackling😂😂😂😂

[@johjoh9270]

not an expert but certainly don't think so, check hypoxia effects too

[@mab3667]

@@sierrasinclair5745 💀

[@Adriana-eu6ty]

Titan is gonna teach us a lot

[@anya_mz]

In the worst possible way

[@FBISHOJI]

Previous Subs has already taught us. Capitalist greed took over with arrogance.

[@Adriana-eu6ty]

@@FBISHOJI i am saying in terms of common people being interested in these kinds of videos. If titan hadn’t happen, we wouldn’t have watched this video. At least I know I would not.

[@samliedtke578]

I love it when people experiment on themselves

[@rexloh9256]

Who’s here for the Titan submersible :o

[@petertengchisry3262]

Titan submersive incident brought me here 😢

[@johnnygreenshirt6215]

I am here trying to understand about pressure pressing down on you. RIP to all those in Titan.

[@derpnerpwerp]

Is his change in pitch actually primarily related to the pressure and not the gas mixture he is breathing? Do they use heliox mixtures in these chambers to prevent nitrogen narcosis and oxygen toxicity? I would imagine so..