Over the weekend , James Cameronsuccessfully made it to the the bottom of the Mariana Trench — the deepest point on Earth . Bad . Ass .
https://gizmodo.com/james-cameron-successfully-reaches-the-deepest-spot-on-5896326
But also : prosperous , unfearing , well - prepare , and maybe a small morsel daft : Any identification number of factors could have turn the the veteran IE - slash - theatre director ’s larger-than-life adventure into his last enactment .
The Mariana Trenchis locate in the western Pacific Ocean , to the east of the Mariana Islands . It ’s over 1,580 air mile long , 43 miles wide on ordinary , and and at it ’s deepest item — heroically known as Challenger Deep — it ’s an awful 6.78 miles to the bottom . Almost 36,000 foot . Reaching those depth is implausibly serious , and James Cameron himself is aver to have admit that the commission offer “ a fate of ways to die . ” So what could have gone wrong ?
Implosion
The obvious , quickest , and most catastrophic itinerary to failure . A weak spot in fabric , a design fault in the fomite . Then , as the pressure increase — pop — the dive craft would have buckled . That does n’t have in mind drowning ; it mean James Cameron would have been squeeze to expiry , with immense pressures ofup to 15,750 psiturning his body into a James Cameron slurry .
Freezing
If theDeepsea Challenger , had somehow generate stuck at the bottom of the deep , Cameron would have been swear on his life support systems to keep him alive . In terms of resource , he had 60 hours of O — but far less in the elbow room of power for heating . With the water system of the Mariana Tench being a fairly consistent 0 ° C , he would have died of hypothermia long before he ran out of air .
Fire
The sub waspacked full of engineering and gadgetry — all take electrical energy . There was also a vast amount of pure O2 circulate around inside Deepsea Challenger . The tiniest of electric faults or twinkle , and that O2 would have had a fire burning hard and fast . There was a low fire extinguisher on board — but it might not have stand up to something major .
Melting
Even though the Mariana Trench is cold , it ’s surroundedhydrothermal vent — fissures in the Earth ’s surface from which geothermally heat water system bursts , unpredicted . Thing is , that water is implausibly hot—700 ° C to be precise . That ’s hot enough to melt the submarine ’s opinion port . Then Cameron would have had weewee issuing into his craft , take by 15,750 pounds per square inch of press . Game over .
Entanglement
Though you might not recognise it , the ocean bed — even the country surrounding the Mariana Trench — is littered with Italian sandwich communicating cables . They ’re there to string up together telecommunication system around the globe , but also turn the bottom of the sea into an assault course for submariners . If Cameron had gotten tangled in one of those melodic phrase , he would ’ve struggle to make it back to the surface .
Fortunately , Cameron was one lucky mother ; he managed to make it down and back up without a hitch . Which is rosy for us , because no doubt his footage from the foreign - esque mankind of Challenger Deep is going to be freakin ’ amazing . Congratulations , James .
Image byMark Thiessen / AP
James Cameron
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , science , and culture news show in your inbox daily .
News from the future , deport to your present .
You May Also Like
