The strength of the high-tech material allows airlines to raise cabin air pressure and increase humidity, which should make passengers more comfortable on long flights.

ECONOMIST: Cabin fever

The East Coast is enjoying a ridge of high pressure that has provided a dome of warm air, said Atlanta NWS forecaster Keith Stellman.

CNN: Weird weather: Temperature extremes coast to coast

During the dive, which takes up to four hours due to the high density of the water (it is filled with certain chemicals plus air pressure to simulate the circumstances found in space), the cosmonauts in training practice space walking -- and may lose a few kilos off their waist line in the strenuous process.

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When water velocity is high, the pressure within the liquid drops to below the vapour pressure of water, allowing tiny air bubbles to expand.

BBC: Shrimp, bubble and pop

The air pressure is also now closer to what is normal in Denver, Colorado -- the mile-high city at 5, 280ft -- than the traditionally higher, and more mountaintop-like standard of 8, 000ft above sea level, sparing fliers from the mild altitude sickness that can be experienced when flying a long distance.

BBC: Increased comfort in the sky