Whether you admit it or not, you have at least fantasized being able to breathe and even live under the sea for long periods. Of course, that's impossible because of the very limited amount of oxygen available.
A group of scientists, however, can change all that with their new creation aptly called the Aquaman crystal.
Researchers and scientists from the University of Southern Denmark, with Professor Christine McKenzie, at the helm had just created a crystal that can absorb vast amounts of oxygen. When ingested, the crystals then gradually release the oxygen at a certain period of time, thus, making sure you have a sufficient amount of it to last under water.
These crystals are actually made from cobalt redesigned to have a very unique organic structure. According to the professor, species, whether animal or human, require another element to bind oxygen. For example, humans need iron. The same principle is applied with the new and distinct cobalt organic molecule. The only difference is that-and it's a major one-this can absorb and bind more than 150 times the amount of oxygen that our air has.
That means by taking only a spoonful of these crystals, you can already breathe under water for hours. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, moreover, you may last even for days. Scuba divers, swimmers, and free divers, for example, don't have to tag along their bulky oxygen tanks and risk suffering from the effects of decompression.
Nevertheless, these crystals need a trigger to let them start releasing oxygen, and so far, they noticed they are more reactive to a vacuum or heat. They wanted to test if they can also be responsive to sunlight.
The scientists also forecast the crystals' possible use in the healthcare setting. Like the divers, lung cancer patients have to bring along huge tanks to breathe properly. The crystals can just give them the same benefit.
Don't get too excited, though. The chances of mass-producing them are still slim and difficult since they have to make sure they get the chemical formula just right, but they're hopeful they can reach such point.