Dive Gear · Gear Science
Gear
Science
Long-form, physics-first articles that explain how dive equipment works from first principles. Not what to buy — how it works, why it matters, and what it needs to do for your specific conditions.
What is Gear Science?
Equipment explained from
first principles
Every piece of scuba equipment is an engineering solution to a physical problem. A regulator solves the pressure problem that prevents a diver from breathing underwater. A wetsuit solves the thermodynamic problem of heat loss in a medium that conducts heat 25 times faster than air.
Gear Science articles start with the physics — the problem the equipment exists to solve — and work forward to the engineering, the specifications, and the questions a diver should be asking before they own or use any piece of kit.
Physics before products
Every article begins with the problem the equipment solves — not with the equipment itself.
Specifications you can use
What EN 250A means, why a balanced first stage matters, how neoprene compression changes your effective insulation at depth.
No product recommendations
The knowledge here applies to any product on the market. It does not expire when a model is discontinued.
The Library
The complete library
01
Gear Science · No. 01
Regulators — How They Work and Why It Matters
The pressure problem that makes regulators necessary. How the two-stage pressure reduction works. The demand valve — cracking effort, Venturi effect, work of breathing. Balanced vs unbalanced first stages. Cold-water freeflow and the Joule-Thomson effect. EN 250A explained. Interactive animated pressure diagram. What to look for, what to ask at the dive shop.
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02
Gear Science · No. 02
Exposure Protection — Wetsuits, Drysuits and the Physics Between Them
Water conducts heat 25 times faster than air. Newton's Law of Cooling — why temperature differential matters more than absolute temperature. Neoprene compression at depth — the 30–50% insulation loss at 30 metres. The nitrogen bubble mechanism. Wetsuit grades and seam construction. Drysuit types, undersuit loft, and the thermal system. Full temperature decision matrix. When to make the drysuit transition.
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03
Gear Science · No. 03
BCDs — Buoyancy, Lift, and the Variables That Actually Matter
Archimedes' principle and the buoyancy curve across a dive. Why neoprene compression and cylinder buoyancy change simultaneously and in opposite directions. The bladder, inflator, dump valves, and overpressure relief explained. Jacket vs back-inflate vs wing — the engineering trade-offs. Lift capacity, trim, weight integration, and a buoyancy curve canvas. What correct weighting has to do with a BCD, and why a BCD cannot fix incorrect ballast.
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04
Gear Science · No. 04
Dive Computers — Algorithms, Gradient Factors, and What Your Computer Is Actually Doing
Henry's Law, on-gassing and off-gassing, and why the number on your wrist is a model not a measurement. The history from Haldane 1908 to Bühlmann ZHL-16. The 16 tissue compartments, half-times, M-values, and the controlling compartment. Gradient factors explained precisely — what GF Low and GF High actually control, and what 100/100 means. CNS oxygen tracking for nitrox divers. The factors computers cannot model: PFO, dehydration, cold water, age.
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05
Gear Science · No. 05
Fins — Hydrodynamics, Blade Geometry, and the Physics of Underwater Propulsion
Newton's Third Law in water and why net thrust — not peak thrust — is what matters. The kick cycle as a propulsion system: power stroke, recovery, blade flex as energy storage, and the tip vortex. Surface area, aspect ratio, and channel geometry. Why stiffer is not always faster, and how rubber blades change behaviour in cold water. Full-foot vs open-heel, paddle vs split vs concave blade — the engineering rationale for each. Kick cycle efficiency canvas.
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