Posted by MHK on October 10, 2001 at 09:29:27:
In Reply to: Thanks for all your inputs but don't quite understand what 'mix' is? posted by Tim O'Rielly on October 10, 2001 at 08:47:44:
Tim,
Ignore some of the in-fighting, it's just a couple of *regulars* sorta like the Hatsfield and McCoy's.. It just keep everyone on their toes ;-)
What I was referring to when I said *mix* was that as you begin to go deeper the trend is moving towards adding a little Helium into your standard gas. In technical parlance we refer to that as mix.
As you may know, the deeper that you descend the Nitrogen ( N2) portion of your mix becomes narcotic. A standard breathing mix contains 21% Oxygen ( 02) and 79% Nitrogen ( N2) [ there is a really small amount of trace gases in the mix but too immaterial to worry about for our discussion purposes].. By reducing the Nitrogen portion of your mix and replacing it with Helium ( He) you significantly reduce the narcotic properties and thus achieve a clearer head at depth..
All of this will be covered in a quality training class and I suggest that you look into Global Underwater Explorer's ( GUE ) as your training agency. See www.gue.com for more details or call John Walker at Scuba Toys 714-527-0430..
Hope that helps..
Later