Most full scuba tanks have a pressure of between 1,800 p.s.i. and 3,000 p.s.i. (pounds per square inch). Approximately 70 to 85 cubic feet of air has been squeezed into the tank. When a diver takes his air tank to be refilled, the dive shop will hook his tank to a compressor with a pressure hose and place his tank in a tub of water while it is being filled. What reasons can you give for placing the tank in water? While thinking about this, keep the gas laws in mind. Explain your answer in detail.

Question

Vocaloid · Answer

Please do not copy-paste my response.

When the tank is being filled, a large amount of air is compressed to a small volume. According to Boyle's law, pressure and volume are inversely related, so that gas will have a high pressure. Gas flows from high to low pressures, so if the air pressure around the tank is significantly lower than the pressure inside the tank, the tank will likely explode. To prevent this, they first submerge the tank in water, which creates a very high pressure zone outside the tank, so the pressure inside vs. outside doesn't have such a steep gradient.