Creating Artificial Gills

• Taking in oxygen: mammals - lungs; fish - gills

• Long-held dreams - humans swimming underwater without oxygen tanks

• Oxygen tanks considered too 1. 31 _________ and large

• Attempts to extract oxygen directly from water

• 1960s - prediction that humans would have gills added by 2. 32_________ 

• Ideas for artificial gills were inspired by research on

  • fish gills

  • fish swim bladders

  • animals without gills - especially bubbles used by 3. 33 _________ 

Building a simple artificial gill

• Make a watertight box of a materiaI which lets 4. 34 _________ pass through

• Fill with air and submerge in water Important that the diver and the water keep5. 35 _________ 

• The gill has to have a large6. 36 _________ 

• Designers often use a network of small 7. 37 _________  on their gill

• Main limitation - problems caused by increased 8. 38 _________  in deeper water

Other applications

• Supplying oxygen for use on 9. 39 _________ 

• Powering 10. 40 _________  cells for driving machinery underwater