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Dive Regulator

A dive regulator is used to draw the correct amount of gas from the cylinder for breathing, and allowing exhaled air out. It is divided into two parts. The first stage is the component that attaches to the cylinder and converts the pressurized air inside to what's called intermediate pressure (less pressure than in the tank but still higher than breathing pressure). The second stage is the component that you put in your mouth to breathe. It reduces the air coming from the first stage regulator to ambient pressure (the right pressure for you to breathe).

The dive regulator controls the flow of air, so that the air pressure within the diver's lungs equals the pressure of the water. This is essential because the pressure of water is much greater than gas. The air breathed in must be at the same pressure as the water, which changes with depth, to ensure ease of breathing. Without pressurized air, a diver’s lungs and sinuses would collapse from the pressure of deep diving.

Emile Gagnan and Jacques Cousteau invented the modern dive regulator and an improved autonomous diving suit. In 1942, they redesigned a car regulator and invented a demand regulator that would automatically fresh air when a diver breathed. A year later in 1943, Cousteau and Gagnan began selling the Aqua-Lung.

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