In cave diving

Cave diving

Cave diving is a type of technical diving in which specialized equipment is used to enable the exploration of caves which are at least partially filled with water. In the United Kingdom it is an extension of the more common sport of caving, and in the United States an extension of the more common...

, a Torricellian chamber is a cave chamber with an airspace above the water at less than atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...

. This is formed when the water level drops and there is no way for more air to get into the chamber. In theory such chambers could pose a risk of decompression sickness to divers, similar to flying after diving. Also, in a Torricellian chamber the diver's depth gauge is unlikely to give an accurate reading of pressure as most depth gauges are not designed to show depths less than zero.

The chambers are named after Evangelista Torricelli

Evangelista Torricelli

Evangelista Torricelli was an Italian physicist and mathematician, best known for his invention of the barometer.-Biography:Evangelista Torricelli was born in Faenza, part of the Papal States...

, inventor of the barometer

Barometer

A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...

.

External links

• http://www.speleogenesis.info/glossary/glossary_by_letter.php?Authors=t (scroll down to alphabetical order)
• http://genet-server.ibtm.tuwien.ac.at/speleo/pdf/glossary_02_T.pdf (scroll down to alphabetical order)