Deep Diving
Keller studied philosophy, mathematics, and theoretical physics at the University of Zurich. He became interested in deep diving and developed tables for mixed-gas decompression, supported by Albert A. Bühlmann who suggested suitable gases. Keller successfully tested his idea in Lake Zurich, where he reached a depth of 400 feet, and Lake Maggiore, where he reached a depth of 728 feet. In 1962, he set a new world record when he reached a depth of 1000 feet off the coast of California, together with Peter Small. This major achievement was overshadowed by the tragic end of the mission: Keller was lucky to survive while Peter Small and Chris Whittaker, a young UCLA student and supporting diver, lost their lives.
In the following years, navies and hospitals bought decompression chambers constructed by Keller.
Read more about this topic: Hannes Keller
Famous quotes containing the words deep and/or diving:
“Then down, deep down, in the mighty ship, unseen by the midday
suns,
You’ll find the chaps who are giving the raps—the men behind the guns!”
—John Jerome Rooney (1866–1934)
“A worm is as good a traveler as a grasshopper or a cricket, and a much wiser settler. With all their activity these do not hop away from drought nor forward to summer. We do not avoid evil by fleeing before it, but by rising above or diving below its plane; as the worm escapes drought and frost by boring a few inches deeper.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)