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How do scuba divers alter their average density to float?

Updated: 8/17/2019
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12y ago

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Divers usually increase their density by wearing a weight belt (which contains lead weights). Some divers also rely, to a lesser degree, on using steel tanks, which are more dense than aluminum tanks.

To decrease their density, divers put air into a Bouyancy Control Device (BCD). Some divers may also control bouyancy by putting air into a drysuit if they wear one.

Whereas the increase in density created by the weightbelt is normally fixed, the positive bouyancy provided by the BCD can be varied throughout the dive.

Usually a divers net density will decrease over the dive - a diver with a full Scuba tank has about 4.5 lbs of extra weight (the weight of the gas) over a diver with an empty scuba tank.

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Q: How do scuba divers alter their average density to float?
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