Arne Zetterström is best known for his research with the breathing mixture hydrox

Hydrox (breathing gas)

Hydrox, a gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, is used as a breathing gas in very deep diving. It allows divers to descend several hundred metres....

 for the Swedish Navy

Swedish Navy

The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...

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Zetterström first described the use of hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

 as a breathing gas

Breathing gas

Breathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration.Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas...

 in 1943. From 1943 to 1944, a total of six ocean dives were made utilizing this mixture with the deepest to 160 meters (96% hydrogen and 4% oxygen).

On 7 August 1945, Zetterström experienced technical problems diving from the HMS Belos

HMS Belos (A214)

HMS Belos is a submarine rescue ship in the Swedish Navy's 1st Submarine flotilla. She carries Sjöugglan, Argus, Mantis and URF. She is also capable of carrying the British LR5.- History :...

. His support divers misread his signals and this was followed by a rapid ascent that resulted in severe decompression sickness

Decompression sickness

Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...

 and hypoxia

Hypoxia (medical)

Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...

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External links

• Photos of Arne Zetterström