Q.

If deep sea divers [scuba divers] use air for respiration, they develop a medical condition known as bends with involves the blocking of capillaries. This is because air is mainly a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. According to Henry’s Law, the solubility of gases increases with increase in pressure. When diver breathes air under high pressure in water, nitrogen dissolves in his blood. When the diver comes towards surface, the pressure gradually decreases. This releases the dissolved gases and leads to the formation of bubbles in the blood. This is quite painful and dangerous to life. In order to avoid bends and toxic effects of dissolved nitrogen in blood, the tanks used by sea divers are filled with air diluted with helium.