Heat is crucial to man’s environmental balance. The human body functions within only a very narrow range of internal temperature and contains delicate mechanisms to control that temperature.
Heat is a form of energy associated with and proportional to the molecular motion of a substance. It is closely related to temperature, but must be distinguished from temperature because different substances do not necessarily contain the same heat energy even though their temperatures are the same.
Heat is generated in many ways. Burning fuels, chemical reactions, friction, and electricity all generate heat. Heat is transmitted from one place to another by conduction, convection, and radiation.
Conduction is the transmission of heat
by direct contact. Because water is an excellent heat conductor, an unprotected
diver can lose a great deal of body heat to the surrounding water by direct
conduction.
Convection is the transfer of heat by the movement of heated fluids. Most home
heating systems operate on the principle of convection, setting up a flow of air
currents based on the natural tendency of warm air to rise and cool air to fall. A
diver seated on the bottom of a tank of water in a cold room can lose heat not only
by direct conduction to the water, but also by convection currents in the water. The
warmed water next to his body will rise and be replaced by colder water passing
along the walls of the tank. Upon reaching the surface, the warmed water will lose heat to the cooler surroundings. Once cooled, the water will sink only to be
warmed again as part of a continuing cycle.
Radiation is heat transmission by electromagnetic waves of energy. Every warm
object gives off waves of electromagnetic energy, which is absorbed by cool
objects. Heat from the sun, electric heaters, and fireplaces is primarily radiant
heat.
To divers, conduction is the most significant means of transmitting
heat. The rate at which heat is transferred by conduction depends on two
basic factors:
-
The difference in temperature between the warmer and cooler material
- The thermal conductivity of the materials
Not all substances conduct heat at the same rate. Iron, helium, and water are excellent
heat conductors while air is a very poor conductor. Placing a poor heat
conductor between a source of heat and another substance insulates the substance
and slows the transfer of heat. Materials such as wool and foam rubber insulate the
human body and are effective because they contain thousands of pockets of
trapped air. The air pockets are too small to be subject to convective currents, but
block conductive transfer of heat.
A diver will start to become chilled when the water
temperature falls below a seemingly comfortable 70° F (21° C). Below 70° F, a
diver wearing only a swimming suit loses heat to the water faster than his body
can replace it. Unless he is provided some protection or insulation, he may quickly
experience difficulties. A chilled diver cannot work efficiently or think clearly,
and is more susceptible to decompression sickness.
Suit compression, increased gas density, thermal conductivity of breathing gases,
and respiratory heat loss are contributory factors in maintaining a diver’s body
temperature. Cellular neoprene wet suits lose a major portion of their insulating
properties as depth increases and the material compresses. As a consequence, it is
often necessary to employ a thicker suit, a dry suit, or a hot water suit for extended
exposures to cold water.
The heat transmission characteristics of an individual gas are directly proportional
to its density. Therefore, the heat lost through gas insulating barriers and respiratory
heat lost to the surrounding areas increase with depth. The heat loss is further
aggravated when high thermal conductivity gases, such as helium-oxygen, are
used for breathing. The respiratory heat loss alone increases from 10 percent of the
body’s heat generating capacity at one ata, to 28 percent at 7 ata, to 50 percent at
21 ata when breathing helium-oxygen. Under these circumstances, standard insulating
materials are insufficient to maintain body temperatures and supplementary
heat must be supplied to the body surface and respiratory gas.
