Naval diver thermal protection using magnesium alloy

Port Hueneme (~1980) graphite-magnesium composite developed for two diver applications — a hydrogen-generating lifting bag for underwater salvage, and a heat-generating belt-pack to keep divers warm in cold water. Used to motivate the magnitude of the galvanic potential between the most-noble and least-noble entries on the series.

Anybody been to Port Hueneme? Port Hueneme, about thirty-five years ago, decided to get into the metal matrix composite business. They were making graphite-magnesium composites — very lightweight. Graphite's lightweight, magnesium's lightweight. These are interesting because if you're making a sample and trying to polish it to look at the microstructure, if you polished it in water it would be corroding in the polishing machine faster than you could polish it. Because you've got the biggest voltage difference between those two.