Aquaman Crystals

Scientists Have Created Crystals That Make Breathing Under Water a Reality

group of scientists at the University of Southern Denmark have developed what they're calling a "crystalline materials that can bind and store oxygen in high concentrations." In other words, they've figured out how to pack a room's worth of oxygen into a bucketfull of crystals.

"A few grains contain enough oxygen for one breath, and as the material can absorb oxygen from the water around the diver and supply the diver with it, the diver will not need to bring more than these few grains," professor Christine McKenzie said ina release. "When the substance is saturated with oxygen, it can be compared to an oxygen tank containing pure oxygen under pressure — the difference is that this material can hold three times as much oxygen."

Unlike other substances that also react with oxygen, the developers of what's being called the "Aquaman Crystal" are likening it to a sponge that can absorb and hold oxygen, rather than simply react to it and lose the elements' life-sustaining properties.

So now what? Just as the substances' nickname implies, the obvious application is underwater breathing. As McKenzie pointed out, the crystal (known formally as{(bpbp)Co2II(NO3)}2(NH2bdc)](NO3)2 * 2H2O) can almost be compared to an oxygen tank, which could have dramatic implications for underwater divers. That said, there's still the need to consider pressure changes underwater, as well as the fact that, most of the time, humans don't breathe pure oxygen, but a mix of oxygen and other natural gases.

Source: News.Mic

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