On a Mathematical Theory of Decompression

A theory is presented on the decompression procedure required after diving and on the accumulation of gases in the blood and in tissues during a dive. It is postulated that the decompression procedure must be such that at no time the partial pressure of the dissolved gases exceeds the external pressure. It is shown that the partial pressure of dissolved nitrogen is a weighted average of the external pressures to which the diver has been exposed previously. To make allowance for the partial pressure of dissolved oxygen, however, requires a more complicated formulation. The theory is in good agreement with published diving tables.