Zoning Out on the Deck: Ships and Submarines
Diving deep into some fundamental questions that we all have regarding ships and submarines. Get your lifeboats ready, it is a bumpy ride!
The human tendency to ask questions when we see a new thing is something which we have in common with our long line of ancestors. They asked the questions, looking at the night sky and we are asking questions, looking at the world around us. Our world is an intricate design of technology and nature now, which can be tough to understand sometimes. Especially if it is a field we don’t encounter on a daily basis. We all at one time or another have been fascinated with ships and submarines, whether it was by seeing Jack Sparrow or numerous naval battleships. But there is so much that we don’t understand about the basics of the naval industry, like why do pirates wear eye patches (the answer is on our social handles, go check!), or how does a submarine even work? So to make it a little easier for you to zone out on the deck, we have compiled a small list of these questions, let’s dive in together!
Ships — the harbinger of goods, the forefront of globalization!
How do Sails on a boat/ship work?
We have all seen big boats with even bigger pieces of sails (the floppy things made of fabric) and it is a wonder how these things work, right? Well, Sails on a ship/boat are portions which help in the movement of the floating object. The principle of action is to take enough bite of the wind to induce a forward momentum i.e. the boat goes with the wind. Interestingly, the sails can also be used to move into the wind. This is known as tacking the boat. It is possible when the sail is angled in a slightly more forward direction than the sail force.
What is the unit of distance and speed used at sea?
Now, we all use kilometers or miles (if you are an American xD) when we travel on road, but see is a big place, these measures don’t really work well on that level. Thus, we have a separate system there. The unit of distance used at sea is “Nautical miles” which corresponds to 1.852 km. A nautical is based on the circumference of the planet Earth. A minute of arc on the planet Earth is 1 nautical mile. This unit of measurement is used by all nations for air and sea travel.
A knot is a unit of measure for speed. If you are travelling at a speed of 1 nautical mile per hour, you are said to be travelling at a speed of 1 knot.
What is Displacement Tonnage?
A lot of terminologies regarding the naval industry are very technical for example “Displacement tonnage” or “Displacement”. It is a naval term used to define the weight of a floating body in the sea. According to Archimedes’ principle, the weight of the body submerged is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. The way he discovered this principle has a story of him being submerged in the bathtub and seeing the water rise, as soon as he stepped in and had his ‘eureka’ moment.
How do planes fly and land on an Aircraft carrier?
Most war/action movies have that scene where an aircraft takes off from a big ship and we all wonder how is it even possible. But with the advent of technology, smaller sized aircraft have the capability to take off on very short runways and also vertical takeoffs. For relatively bigger aircraft, there are high power fast rail and hook system that catapults the plane forward and off the carrier deck. (It is funny to imagine a catapult system throwing off a plane into the air xD)
Similarly, during landing, there is a hook and pull mechanism that halts the planes to stop before the carrier deck runs outs!
Why do fast rotating propellers on a Ship or Submarine lead to propeller damage?
High RPM or fast rotating propellers used in sea vessels are very prone to significant damage due to a phenomenon known as “Cavitation” which leads to the formation of vapour bubbles and repeated implosion of these on the propellers causes wear and tear to the propellers.
How do you put those ship models inside the damn bottles!?
Well turns out there are two ways. One is to simply rig the masts of the ship and raise it up when the ship is inside the bottle and the other is to make the ship inside the bottle using long-specialized tools. And here goes, all the conspiracy theories one had about those miniature ship bottles!
Submarines-the legends of wars, the explorers of oceans!
What are the major components of a Submarine?
A ship is out there and easy for us to see but a submarine is something which most of us won’t get a chance to see, so it is imperative we should know what parts it has. The major components of a submarine include the outer structure, the pressure hull, ballast tanks, the SONAR dome, the propeller and the hydroplanes for control.
How do submarines float and dive?
We have Archimedes’eureka moment to thank for this! Submarines use Archimedes’s principle to stay afloat or dive underwater. Although a typical Virginia class submarine weighs over 7000 tons, the construction leaves a lot of cavities inside filled with air which results in the weight of the displaced water being greater than the submarine which makes it float!
Once the submarine intends to dive, these cavities are filled with seawater which makes the system negatively buoyant (so it can dive instead of float). These cavities filled with air & water are known as “Ballast tanks”.
What makes submarines lethal in warfare?
Hoping that we don’t ever get to see it in live-action, submarines are primarily used in sea warfare including nuclear warheads. The most important aspect which decides the fate of warfare is stealth and firepower. A submarine is designed to be operated in extreme stealth and has the capability to carry and launch ICBMs with nuclear warheads. And since they are tough to detect, it makes them very lethal.
How fast can torpedoes travel inside water during an attack scenario?
Continuing the line of the lethal submarines. The modern-day typical torpedoes can dial speeds up to 50–60 knots. Moreover, recent advancement in marine weaponry has led to the development of torpedoes that can reach speeds up to 200 Knots (370km/hr) making it nearly impossible for an enemy to dodge an attack of this nature.
How long can a submarine remain submerged?
The present generation submarines operating with nuclear power can technically operate for decades before replacing their power system. Thus, the primary aspect deciding the duration is the crew’s food supply and their health. So technically in a zombie apocalypse, submarines are our best bet!
How does a Submarine control its O2 & CO2 environment when underwater?
Submarines of the present generation, operating on nuclear power have at their disposal an abundance of seawater (H2O with KOH as electrolyte). The chemical process of electrolysis is used to generate O2 for the crew and the H2 is sent overboard.
The CO2 on the submarine is scrubbed using a chemical called MEA (Monoethanolamine) which runs on a regenerative cycle.
How deep can a submarine go underwater?
The depth a submarine can go underwater is decided by the pressure limit of the ballast pumps. This is due to the reason that after a certain depth the hydro-static pressure becomes greater than the air pressure pumped into the ballast. This results in flooding of the ballast tanks and may result in the sinking of the submarine! So when planning the trip to the depth of Atlantis, make sure your ballast pumps can handle it.
So these were some of the questions we had in our minds, but then again, these stem out a further set of new questions! If you need answers to those, drop them in the comments below and stay tuned for more information on the naval world!
This article was written by Aditya Krishna and Atotmyr.
