History of decompression research and development range of commercial, military and recreational diving. The first recorded experimental work related to decompression was conducted by Robert Boyle, who subjected experimental animals to reduced ambient pressure by use of a primitive vacuum pump. In the earliest experiments the subjects died from asphyxiation, but in later experiments, signs of what was later to become known as decompression sickness were observed. Later, when technological advances allowed the use of pressurisation of mines and caissons to exclude water ingress, miners were observed to present symptoms of what would become known as caisson disease, the bends, and decompression sickness. Once it was
Decompression practice The no decompression limit (NDL) or no stop time, is the interval that a diver may theoretically spend at a given depth without having to perform decompression stops. The NDL helps divers plan dives so that they can stay at a given depth and ascend without stopping while avoiding unacceptable risk of decompression sickness. The NDL is a theoretical time obtained by calculating inert gas uptake and release in the body, using a model such as the Bühlmann decompression algorithm. Although the science of calculating these limits has been refined over the last century, there is still much that is