What is the highest pressure humans can live in in comfort?
These people inhabit an underwater city.
In the city there are pools that connect the dry habitat with the outside ocean, this of course mean that the habitat is unpressurized and therefore the internal atmospheric pressure is the same as the pressure at the bottom of the sea.
So my question is: how deep can the city be?
I do not care what they breath as long as the air mix can let them live as deep as possible without any major problem. I also know that they cannot simply go back to the surface; to do that they need to undergo decompression, but that's ok, they are supposed to live there!
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1 answer
The change in pressure below the ocean is approximately $$\frac{dp}{dz}=\frac{1\text{ atm}}{10\text{ m}}$$ where $z$ is measured from the surface of the water downwards. We also have to add in the one atmosphere of pressure from the atmosphere, meaning that the pressure is really $$p(z)=1+\frac{1}{10}z$$ where $p$ is in atmospheres. According to Wikipedia, 100 meters under the surface leads to pressures dangerous to even the most experienced divers. We know that $p(100)=11\text{ atm}$, where nitrogen narcosis becomes extremely hazardous, and could lead to death. A much better depth, in terms of narcosis, is about 40 meters, where $p(40)=5\text{ atm}$.
That said, there's no reason for your city to have the same pressure as the outside ocean. It should absolutely be pressurized, with the correct mix of gases. Pure oxygen can lead to oxygen toxicity.
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