Is It Really Impossible To Breathe Through a Tube Underwater?

Summary by Krater

This video investigates the physical limits of breathing through a tube underwater in a swimming pool, explaining why water pressure prevents breathing at depths beyond a few feet without compressed air.

From the video

Answers: How deep can you go underwater breathing through a tube?

• Underwater breathing limits
• Water pressure effects on lungs
• Snorkeling depth limits
• Surface-supplied air systems

What it concludes

• At a depth of 10 feet, water pressure makes it physically impossible to breathe through an unpressurized tube.
• Water pressure at 10 feet exerts around 433 pounds per square inch of pressure pushing on the body, crushing the air inside a bottle or lungs.
• Muscles that blow out air are stronger than those that suck in air, but they still cannot overcome water pressure to blow air out at depth.
• Surface-supplied air systems for deep-sea diving require pressurized air to overcome the pressure of the water and allow breathing.
• Holding a breath of compressed air underwater and then ascending without exhaling can cause lungs to dangerously expand.