snorkel

The snorkel is part of the diving equipment and belongs to the basic ABC equipment of a diver . The snorkel allows you to keep your head under water while swimming on the water surface and to breathe.

The snorkel consists of a mouthpiece made of soft rubber or silicone and the breathing tube with an inner diameter of approx. 2 cm and a maximum length of 35 cm. The mouthpiece is connected to the pipe via a bend or, more rarely, a corrugated tube. The snorkel is attached to one side of the diving mask so that the mouthpiece can be fed in from the side.

The length of 35 cm must not be exceeded, otherwise there is a risk of pendulum breathing , as the volume of the exhaled air is less than the volume of the breathing tube, i.e. the exhaled air cannot leave the tube and is thus inhaled again. This can be prevented by a suitable valve system, in which the exhaled air enters the water directly so that only fresh air is inhaled through the snorkel, but with a longer snorkel the water pressure on the chest compared to the pressure of the air in the snorkel would make breathing to make impossible. In 1910, medical experiments were carried out by the Viennese physiologist Stigler, which showed that, at a water depth of approx. 60 cm, damage to health occurred after approx. Four minutes due to the accumulation of fluid in the lungs ( internal blueing ). Medieval inventions with extra-long snorkels subsequently received scientific evidence of their uselessness through these experiments. The only useful technical possibility of air supply for divers was and is therefore the supply of breathing gas at ambient pressure, either via a compressor on the surface and a hose (called an umbilical cord ) or via compressed air cylinders that the diver carries with him underwater.

Some snorkel models are additionally equipped with valves (at the lower end to allow water to drain and at the upper end to prevent water from penetrating when diving ) and holding devices for attaching the snorkel to the diving mask. However, this is also possible by tucking under the mask straps. Blowing out the snorkel or draining the water on the surface replaces the expensive and usually irreparable technology with valveless snorkeling. Snorkels directly connected to the diving mask, which were on sale a few decades ago and can still be found today as children's toys, are to be rejected for safety reasons.

The snorkel is sometimes used by scuba divers on the surface of the water. As a result, the diver does not consume any breathing gas carried along as long as he breathes ambient air through the snorkel, e.g. B. until the group has gathered. The snorkel opening, which is higher than the mouth and nose, enables more comfortable and (especially in rough seas ) safer breathing. Since the snorkel cannot be used during the actual dive, its use among scuba divers is controversial. This is especially true if the snorkel remains firmly attached to the mask during the dive.

Further meanings, comments, designs

Medium snorkel for fin swimmers in action

Nissan Patrol with a snorkel mounted on the A-pillar to increase the fording depth and a cyclone filter (at the inlet, height of the roof edge) for very dusty roads

The air intake pipe used since the Second World War on submarines and the attachable air intake pipe in off-road vehicles and tanks to increase the fording depth are also referred to as snorkels .

The middle snorkel is a special design for sporty or competitive fin swimming. The snorkel does not run sideways here, but over the bridge of the nose.

There are special children's snorkels for children. The smaller dimensions reduce the risk of pendulum breathing due to the smaller lung volume.

Aristotle described around 350 BC An elephant that uses its trunk as a snorkel to breathe underwater. The easiest (and first) snorkel is probably the cane to be found in the literature , which helps when hiding in the lake. In the 15th century, fishing underwater was also known, using a diving helmet equipped with a snorkel.

The submarine snorkel was invented by the Dutch and almost in parallel by the Italians shortly after the First World War . The word is a modern education of the 20th century, based on the North German snorkel (nose, mouth, snout) and snorgeln (breathing loudly through the nose, pulling up the nasal mucus), related to snoring. The word is therefore an internationalism , ie it was adopted in many other languages - such as English ( snorkel , also snorkle ), Finnish ( Snorkkeli ) or Japanese ( Shunōkeru ).

Web links

Wiktionary: Snorkel - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

↑ Improved submarine technology and submarine weapons. Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, accessed on August 2, 2013 .
↑ Frieder Schanze: 'Fischbüchlein vom Bodensee'. In: Burghart Wachinger et al. (Hrsg.): The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon . 2nd, completely revised edition, Volume 2 ( Comitis, Gerhard - Gerstenberg, Wigand ). De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1980, ISBN 3-11-007264-5 , Col. 741.

[1] Improved submarine technology and submarine weapons. Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, accessed on August 2, 2013 .

[2] Frieder Schanze: 'Fischbüchlein vom Bodensee'. In: Burghart Wachinger et al. (Hrsg.): The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon . 2nd, completely revised edition, Volume 2 ( Comitis, Gerhard - Gerstenberg, Wigand ). De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1980, ISBN 3-11-007264-5 , Col. 741.