About Decompression

by George Irvine

Decompression has two basic components: 1) physiological, and 2) the decay curve. The curve attempts to describe the on and off gassing vs. time and pressure, is very simple and basic, and has a standard look that mimics most such curves where they apply to nature (right down to the ratio of the distances that arms of galaxies are spiraled from each other.)

Very simply, the reason the second component does not account for all diving is because of the first component. Some divers get great results with anything that fits into the midrange of all the curve’s parameters, i.e., not too deep, not too long, not too short, and a deco that would work theoretically many data points away from the profile being done. Then they end up hurt on a real deep short dive, or a long shallow one, or whatever. That is not the fault of the “model”, it is the fault of the application in the absence of considering the physical.

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• Repetitive Dives by George Irvine
• Why We Do Not Bounce Dive After Diving in the WKPP by George Irvine