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The Tech Behind James Cameron's Trench-Bound Submarine

MrSeb writes "Yesterday, James Cameron completed a five-mile-deep test dive in the Pacific Ocean, in preparation for a seven-mile (36,000ft, 11,000m) dive to Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench; the deepest place in the world. We don't know when the actual dive will occur, but it will probably be soon. At 36,000ft, the pressure exerted on the hull is 16,000 psi; over 1000 atmospheres, and equivalent to eight tons pushing down on every square inch of your body. Understandably, building a submersible (and equipment, such as cameras, motors, and batteries) that can withstand that kind of pressure, and then safely return to the surface, is difficult. This article digs into the technology required to get Cameron safely to the bottom of the ocean, film some 3D, IMAX footage, and then return to the surface."

6 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Avatar by Forty+Two+Tenfold · · Score: 4, Funny

    It did, but they got enough Unobtainium to build this sub.

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  2. Re:Avatar by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Blue people make good soldiers, when led by white officers...

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  3. Avatar II: In 2D! by jd · · Score: 1, Funny

    After an unsuccessful attempt to film the sequel of Avatar at a depth of 36,000 feet in 3D resulted in the actors being squished into the ground under the intense pressures, Cameron vowed to continue filming the movie using a mix of scrapers to move the cast and stop-motion cameras to film the sequences.

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  4. Re:Cameron by tsa · · Score: 4, Funny

    Didn't Cameron find the Titanic?

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  5. Re:Avatar by slew · · Score: 4, Funny

    It did, but they got enough Unobtainium to build this sub.

    Actually the alchemy that Mr Cameron performed was to transform 3D hypium and virutal Unobtainum into gold by using a motion picture catalyst derived from a pocahontas precursor...

  6. Re:Avatar by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Great. The last thing we need is an army of evil smurfs led by Gargamel

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