PHYSICS UNDER THE SEA

On Saturday 17th October, a group of 13 Physics students from San Andrea Senior School went on an outing to learn more about ‘Pressure'.  However, this was not a regular outing; it was a diving experience to remember.

We met at 8.15am at the diving centre (Maltaqua) to prepare all the equipment for the dive.  We then wathced a twenty minute film which explained what the dive was going to be like and all the hand signs which were going to be used in order to communicate under water.  When the film was over, we had a Physics lesson explaining air pressure in the cylinders, the difference between pressure on land and under water and how all this this would affect the diver.

The dive itself took place at ‘Ta Fra Ben' since the weather was just right for diving over there.  We were all paired up, and an instructor was assigned for each pair.  The instructors then helped us put on the equipment whilst all hand signs were once again revised.

Each dive took around thirty minutes.  Each group descended deeper and deeper into the water throughout the first ten minutes until a depth of around four metres was reached.  We were then able to explore the area and stopped at a few sandy areas and areas covered in seaweed to look at the large amount of different species of marine life present.  Once on land again, everyone immediately felt the weight of the cylinders again since this would go unnoticed under water as everyone enjoyed feeling weightless.

The dive was an amazing experience.  Some of us had already been to diving before but still enjoyed this time since we were with our friends.  Apart from all the fun that we had, we also had the opportunity to experience the theory learnt in class in a real life situation.  This will surely help us keep in mind this topic even more.

On behalf of the whole group of students, I would like to thank Mr. Alex Bonavia, Mr. Gilbert Fenech and San Andrea School for this wonderful experience.

Jennifer Attard

School Captain