What are those underwater breathers called?

Question

Not the air tanks divers use, I'm talking about the battery operated system that actually takes air out of the water. I want to Yahoo it, but I can't rememebr what they are called.

It's man-made. You know, takes the air out of the water like submarines do so they can stay underwater without ever having to come up for air.

Oh, just a little not; FISH ARE NOT MAN MADE!!!

Gee, I'm more informed than scuba divers and such. Guess I'll have to keep Yahooing.

I saw it first in a BSA magazine, and reaserched it online. The inventor of the device that extracts air from the water actually got the idea from Star Wars. The device, last time I checked, was in the beta stages.

And I'll have to validate this to be 100% sure, but on the History or Discovery channel they were talking about a submarine that had a device with an oxygen extractor. Although maybe they were talking about a recycler. However, the device I have asked about is at the least in the beta stages.

Answer 1

Think they are called water gills and you can purchase them on that water planet in Star Wars. think mostly Jedi use them though... in the real world called earth 21st century there is no such device, the rebreathers are the closest we come to staying underwater for 4-5 hrs on scuba or we can stay for an indefinate period on Surface Supply but unfortunately the human physiology has a hard time coping with that kinda of pressure indefinately.
As far as I know there are no submarines on the planet at this time which can stay underwater indefinately, they too are restricted by their supply of compressed gas and air scrubbers.
The problem with a device that could separate the H2 and Oxy is that the human body cannot survive at depth on pure Oxygen it cause a condition known as Oxygen toxicity, which causes convulsions and death. But if you do find the device please let us know, the work it would save for us commercial divers from having to compress air and mix gases to work would be well worth the money it would cost.

Feb 4/07
P.S okay I almost stand corrected

Check these sites
http://www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=63
http://www.primidi.com/2005/06/01.html
Also check out this site on some thoughts and feed back.
http://www.divester.com/2005/06/02/inventing-scuba-gear-is-tankless-work/

The device has yet to be used in real world applications and in the inventors own words

Bodner: I call it a lab model it's not yet a prototype, it's in an aquarium which has a pump, a centrifuge, some hoses and a balloon, we cannot take it into the water yet, into the sea, but we tried it out with water and we saw that in principle it works.

This was in 2005 and no other articles seem to be in circulation about progress, except a request for investors...Quelle suprise.
There also seems to be the problem of supplying the machine with energy to separate the oxygen, and still a human cannot breathe pure oxygen at any great depth.

Even though there has been work to that ends at this time no prototype has been used in a real world setting, filling a balloon in an aquarium doesn't constitute a working model.
Oh and the inventors name is Alon Bodner.

So in the end there is no battery powered underwater breather, but there are a couple of really cool articles which profess to being on the track to creating them.....Time will tell.

Answer 2

I don't know if there is something that can extract "air" from the water, as the air we breathe is a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and other gasses. If one were to extract something for water, you'd largely get hydrogen and oxygen.

But maybe you are talking about rebreathers which cleanse air underwater so that it can be reused. There are rebreather devices for scuba divers and for submarines which allow extended times underwater.

Here are a few references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebreather
http://www.rebreatherworld.com/general-new-rebreather-articles/1962-regenerating-air-submarine.html

Answer 3

You "extract" air from water via a system known as electrolysis. An electrical current sent into a tank of water separates the oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen being lighter than oxygen bleeds off and can by siphoned off for use as a power source, or whatever other use needed. The oxygen is then mixed with other elements (primarily nitrogen) to become breathable air. (In a submarine, it is tanked under pressure and mixed with the "stale" air to make that air breathable again.

Answer 4

That I know,at today,there are no devices working as you state.(I mean,"taking air out of water...").
- If you mean "rebreathers",used for diving.They are not functioning as you say.
-Submarines,they don't take their air out of the water with so "weird devices". As for rebreathers,they bring particular filters that fix CO2,and tanks of O2. All managed ,controlled,by an electronic system that maintain the air they breaths at the normal,human,percentages,for surviving(78% N2,21%O2,plus a 1% rare gases).
-Im answering to this question In order to correct the confusion that this very question could create in the mind of the readers.

Answer 5

snorkers?

Answer 6

FISH??