Thewaterisalwaysjustabovefreezingand, as a funbonus, thewateraboveitexertsalmost 16,000 poundspersquareinchofpressureonanythingdownthere, soit's notwhat
Thecoreofthethingis a bigspherewith 9-centimeter-thicktitaniumwallsand a 59-inch, or 1.5-meter, diameterinterior.
コアは厚さ9センチのチタン製の球体で、内部は直径59インチ(1.5メートル)。
Theychose a titaniumgrade V ingotforthewallsbecauseitofferedcorrosionresistanceand a goodstrength-to-weightratio—it's alsogotthreedomedacrylicwindowspassengerscanlookthrough.
壁には耐食性と強度対重量比に優れたチタン・グレードVのインゴットを選んだ。
Whenassembled, thehulliswithin 99.933% accuracyof a perfectsphere, whichkeepsthepressureevenlydistributedacrossitssurface.
組み立てると、船体は99.933%の精度で完全な球体となり、圧力が表面全体に均等に分散される。
It's alsoprettydarnimpressive—haveyouevertriedtorollplay-dohinto a perfectsphere?
おままごと用の粘土を丸め、完全な球体にしたことがあるだろうか?
Haveyouevertrieddoingthesamethingwith a titaniumgrade V ingot?
Unfortunately, theteamcouldn't get a titaniumballintoanairtrafficcontroljobor a middleschoolgameoftruthordare, sotheydidthenextbestthing—senditto a stateresearchcenterinSt. Petersburg, Russia, oneoftheonlyplaceswithmachinescapableofthishighpressureof a pressuretest.
Thepilotgets a joystickandtouchscreentodrivewith, a bunchofcomputerstolookatstuff, andoneoftwochairstositinthat, don't worry, I'veconfirmedarebothergonomicandhaveenoughroomtostash a tunasandwichunder—presumablyothersandwicheswouldfittoo, but I haven't beenabletoverify.
I sayneartheseafloor, becausethelimitingfactordoesn't actuallytouchthegroundatChallengerDeep—ittravelsallthatwaytohoverjustabove, whichisbothverydisappointingandverysmart.
Soatdepth, thelimitingfactormakesitselfjust a littlebitfloaty, thenusesthethrusterstopushitselfeversoslightlydowntostaynearthefloorwithoutdisturbingit.
It's gotcamerastocapturefootage, LEDlightssoyoucanseestuffoutthewindows, and a robotarmtocollectresearchsamples—thoughthere's notmuchtoseeoutthosewindows, exceptapparently a fewfreakylittlefishthingsand a plasticbag.
Forexample, if, hypothetically, you'vebeengooglingsubmarines a lotlately, maybeyoucameacross a storyabout a certainformerpresidentrunninghismouthabouttheUS's nuclearsubmarines.