I can't believe this hasn't been done already...

Inspired by [twitch]'s "White-water Air Supply"...

Top the snorkel / breathing tube with a film of breathable waterproof material. Water stays out, air gets in. In white water, air gets separated from the water.

If you doubt the ease of breathing through breathable films, I have some on my desk which I have tried breathing through. It's not as easy as, say, through cotton, but it's easy enough. Obviously you're often out of breath when kayaking through white water, in which case the entire tube can be made of a "cage" wrapped in the film, increasing the surface area through which you can pull air, and easing the pressure. This could be incorporated into a helmet for kayaking or other sports requiring a helmet, or even (for HUGE surface area), into the craft (kayak) itself.

I wonder if it would be possible to increase the surface area enough to make it possible to breathe under normal water. Or an arrangement with a vacuum pump to extract air out of the water.

I'm going to have to go and make one now.
-- TheLightsAreOnBut, Jun 08 2007

Twitch's White water air supply White-water_20Air_20Supply
Inspired by [twitch]. Thanks [twitch]. [twitch] rocks. [twitch] [twitch] [twitch] [TheLightsAreOnBut, Jun 08 2007]

US patent 4896664 http://v3.espacenet...C&IDX=US4896664&F=0
snorkel with gas permeable (water impermeable) inlet [xaviergisz, Jun 09 2007]

Silicone-Based Underwater Breathing System Silicone-Based_20Un...0Breathing_20System
[xaviergisz, Jun 09 2007]

I wish you good luck with your manufacturing skills. Good idea.
-- punk_punker, Jun 09 2007


Sounds like waterboarding to me.
-- nuclear hobo, Jun 09 2007


Best of luck. As a freediver who has experimented with various types of water blocking snorkels, they're all annoying compared to a free breathing tube.
-- normzone, Jun 09 2007


I had thought about this, maybe a sponge or something, but with no proof-of- concept, or knowledge about what kind of materials were out there, I had to change my idea, almost completely.

This sounds great though.
-- twitch, Jun 09 2007


For an aerobic sport such as kayaking you'd need a large surface area to breath through, how about incorporating it into a helmet?
-- marklar, Jun 11 2007


// how about incorporating it into a helmet?

Thanks marklar.
-- TheLightsAreOnBut, Jun 18 2007



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