James Cameron's entirely new submarine

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/science/earth/james-camerons-rocket-plunge-to-the-planets-deepest-recess.html?_r=1&hp

by terhechte • 14 years ago

181 65 14 years ago

nytimes.com

ck2• 14 years ago

James Cameron is going to personally descend 6.8 miles under water?

I sure hope he comes back, I'd like to see Avatar 2.

They need to come up with a brilliant way to make the water pressure work against itself to keep the hull intact.

Otherwise gravity always wins.

joshAg8• 14 years ago

> They need to come up with a brilliant way to make the water pressure work against itself to keep the hull intact.

That's why they use a sphere.

danssig• 14 years ago

>I sure hope he comes back, I'd like to see Avatar 2.

Why do we need more sequels? Wouldn't you rather see him make something new? And if you truly want a stupid Hollywood Sequel you probably have a better chance if he doesn't come back.

sukuriant• 14 years ago

You know, you're absolutely right. Terminator 2 was a terrible movie.

Not all sequels, especially when they're in the hands of James Cameron, are bad.

And yes, I'd like to see Avatar 2, as well.

samstave• 14 years ago

Regardless of what one may think of his movies; this is bad ass.

I am surprised that there is not a fleet of autonomous subs roving the ocean floor and mapping it which belong to Google.

Or any other body for that matter.

Seems like it would be a good idea to make small, unmanned subs that "roomba" the ocean floor collecting data, mapping and taking video and pics.

They should surface whenever their batteries run low, solar re-charge and upload their data.

His website is pretty cool too.

http://deepseachallenge.com/

tomjen3• 14 years ago

Google would totally build those as soon as they find a way to sell ads to angler fish (I am betting there is a market for dating services, at least for male angler fish).

At the moment though there doesn't seem any reason to do that.

pgbovine• 14 years ago

long-term "blue sky" research is, by definition, done without an eye towards profitability.

polyfractal• 14 years ago

Obligatory link to The Oatmeal's angler fish comic:

"How the male angler fish gets completely screwed"

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/angler

mkramlich• 14 years ago

> Regardless of what one may think of his movies; this is bad ass.

Hmmmmm.... Aliens, Titanic, Avatar... not to mention Terminator, T2, The Abyss. Many people consider his movies to be bad ass and innovative as well. He's one of the very few directors where I can count on him setting his own bar so high that I'm going to love whatever he makes. Along with Ridley Scott and Spielberg, and more recently Nolan and Fincher joining their ranks, in my eyes.

leeoniya• 14 years ago

i think it's interesting to see how the latest fad of successful public figures is it to take on pushing human exploration / travel. John Carmack has his Armadillo Aerospace...

sp332• 14 years ago

And also has the initials J.C. hm...

romland• 14 years ago

Pfft, downvoted? Cruel. It wasn't just your average meme. I giggled :)

ChuckMcM• 14 years ago

Very cool. I particularly like technologists which don't 'buy' the party line when it comes to how things are done. The foam story is a good one.

andrewjshults• 14 years ago

While it's not a submarine, the FLIPresearch vessel is an interesting example of laying out a sea going vessel in a vertical manner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RP_FLIP and http://worldphotocollections.blogspot.com/2009/06/flipping-s...). In the case of the FLIP, the idea is to provide an ultra stable platform by putting the majority of the ship underwater. It's quite the spectacle to see it look like it's capsizing and then just continue to sit there once it has gone vertical.

Semiapies• 14 years ago

Oh, fascinating. I'd read about that in the late 80s, but didn't realize it was still in use.

eps2• 14 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YI3c_sGocc - 1 min video of the actual flip.

arjn• 14 years ago

This is good but IMHO he would be much safer in a spherical sub. I suppose the problem may be with having large enough viewports in a spherical vehicle.

learc833• 14 years ago

The pilot does sit in a sphere. It's just like the Trieste; it's not possible to make a sphere that is strong enough to withstand the pressure and light enough to remain buoyant. To solve this they attach the sphere to a larger buoyant vessel.

The non-spherical part of the Trieste was filled with gasoline for buoyancy, this submersible uses some kind of high density foam.

Florin_Andrei2• 14 years ago

Hm. I would imagine the foam is high strength, but low density.

High density would kind of defeat the purpose.

elithrar2• 14 years ago

> This is good but IMHO he would be much safer in a spherical sub. I suppose the problem may be with having large enough viewports in a spherical vehicle.

Part of the problem is also descending/ascending - a sphere cannot do either as quickly as the "bullet" shaped vehicle designed here.

mrsebastian• 14 years ago

More info on the tech behind Cameron's submarine: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/121183-the-tech-that-will...

drucken• 14 years ago

"The Abyss"? James Cameron literally takes it to another level...

Anyone know if there is any additional risk of decompression sickness or other health issues merely from the speed of descent/ascent?

joshAg8• 14 years ago

Almost certainly not since the submarine is pressurized, just like how an airplane is.

sopooneo2• 14 years ago

So it starts out at as high a pressure as it will end up at the bottom? Because of course the problems of pressure are reversed in deep sea submersion as compared to high altitude flight. You have to pressurize a plane, the submarine will pressurize itself.

D_Alex7• 14 years ago

Ugh... this can hardly be more wrong.

Decompression sickness only occurs when a person is under elevated pressure for a period of time, and then the pressure is released. Pressurizing the sub could in fact cause the decompression sickness, not prevent it.

For this sub, during descent the pilot's chamber compresses and air is drawn out of that chamber to keep the pressure constant (this from JC's site). Rather unlike the airplane, into which the air is pumped from the outside, usually from the engine compressor's bleed, to keep the pressure from falling too low as it ascends.

ry0ohki• 14 years ago

The Nereus has already been down there unmanned: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nereus_(underwater_vehicle)

If you are wondering what it saw there are some videos here: http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=33775

alaskamiller• 14 years ago

Yesterday we had a love fest over Elon Musk, but I for one always thought James Cameron's sidetrack into deep sea exploration to be really, really awesome.

We know more about the moon than our own deep seas. Chilling in a Martian greenhouse is cool but meeting the Bloop is cooler.

psykotic• 14 years ago

> He is to cram his 6-foot-2 frame into a personnel sphere just 43 inches wide, forcing him to keep his knees bent and his body largely immobile. The dive plan calls for him to remain in that position for up to nine hours.

My heartfelt sympathies go out to Cameron--it sounds like riding coach on a transcontinental flight.

funthree• 14 years ago

I bet he'll do some great filming down there. He might make an awesome deep sea documentary

Devilboy• 14 years ago

I'd pay to see that

asdkl234890• 14 years ago

and announced plans to ride it solo into the planet’s deepest recess

Why? What can he do in the sub, that he couldn't do remotely? Nothing obviously, he wants to be in the sub, because he wants to be in the sub.

ctdonath• 14 years ago

Be there.

DrStalker• 14 years ago

If he digs a hole while he is down there then he can set a new world depth record.

indubitably• 14 years ago

"He is to cram his 6-foot-2 frame into a personnel sphere just 43 inches wide, forcing him to keep his knees bent and his body largely immobile. The dive plan calls for him to remain in that position for up to nine hours."

Thanks no.

eps2• 14 years ago

The project's website - http://deepseachallenge.com - truly fascinating stuff

sargun• 14 years ago

What's great is how much of this tech is going to the open market. The foam that's being used for this is already on the open market. It's really an ideal model of how private research can help our society as a whole.

James Cameron's entirely new submarine

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