The first step in the Deep Sentinel program, one of the most ambitious ocean-engineering projects in decades, will be completed this year. This initial step, called Vanguard, will shelter three aquanaut-scientists at depths of 100 meters. Eventually, the project will create a modular underwater habitat system that will let scientists live underwater for weeks at a time.
  • merde alors@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    Because of its narcotic effect at high pressure, nitrogen shouldn’t be breathed by humans at depths below about 60 meters. So, at 200 meters, the breathing mix in the habitat will be 2 percent oxygen and 98 percent helium. But because of its very high thermal conductivity, “we need to heat helium to 31–32 °C to get a normal 21–22 °C internal temperature environment,” says Rick Goddard, director of engineering at Deep. “This creates a humid atmosphere, so porous materials become a breeding ground for mold”.

    😮

    • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
      0·
      10 days ago

      What they mean is they will need to use the amount of energy that you would normally put into air to get it to 31° C, but the helium will only get to 21° C. At no point will the helium actually be 31° C.

      • BastingChemina@slrpnk.netEnglish
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        10 days ago

        Apparently when doing saturation diving like that you can’t even understand what the other person says, between the helium and the pressure the voice is too distorted to be intelligible.

        You can communicate with a computer that transforms your voice to be intelligible but it is really not a pleasant conversation so you can stay there for weeks without having a conversation except for the bare minimum.

      • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
        0·
        11 days ago

        Hmm… maybe not? The low density of helium at 1 atm is what causes the amplification of higher frequencies in the voicebox, but in a pressurized container the gas would be higher density so it might offset the effect… I think?

  • KillerTofu@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? ‘No!’ says the man in Washington, ‘It belongs to the poor.’ ‘No!’ says the man in the Vatican, ‘It belongs to God.’ ‘No!’ says the man in Moscow, ‘It belongs to everyone.’ I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose… Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.

  • BaroqueInMind@lemmy.oneEnglish
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    11 days ago

    Very interesting to read, but sounds so astronomically expensive and reliant on zero mistakes in every single aspect of manufacturing every single thing going into the pods, that no one will sustain paying for this shit beyond angel investors.

    • solsangraal@lemmy.zipEnglish
      0·
      11 days ago

      you should read michael chrichton’s book sphere. it talks about some of the tom & jerry tier physics and biology disasters that can happen in a deep sea habitat

        • chuymatt@startrek.websiteEnglish
          0·
          11 days ago

          Ooh. Dunno about the adaptation side of things. I will say that I read the damned thing all in one night. Had to stay home from classes after doing so. Good book, to say the least.

      • UnrepentantAlgebra@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        10 days ago

        Nah if you only build a 2D structure, you won’t have to worry about the water pressure because your structure will likely not be able to interact with 3D matter. It’s genius engineering IMHO.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
      0·
      10 days ago

      Sure when in air. Not so much for underwater or really anywhere where they have to deal with a pressure differential, either positive or negative, where large flat sides are detrimental.

    • kerrigan778@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      10 days ago

      The hexagon is only stronger than a circle if you’re gridding it.

      EDIT (stronger for the TOTAL material used)

    • Emerald@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      9 days ago

      Why would anybody chose to live confined underwater?

      Why would anyone choose to live confined in space? Idk, but the ISS still exists.

        • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.ukEnglish
          0·
          9 days ago

          What part of the opening rationale was incomprehensible?

          “With current diving at 150 to 200 meters, you can only get 10 minutes of work completed, followed by 6 hours of decompression. With our underwater habitats we’ll be able to do seven years’ worth of work in 30 days with shorter decompression time. More than 90 percent of the ocean’s biodiversity lives within 200 meters’ depth and at the shorelines, and we only know about 20 percent of it.”

            • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.ukEnglish
              0·
              9 days ago

              Humans are the ones tooling and retooling these units for specific purposes, which can be done far more efficiently in situ in an underwater habitation. Along with any other human activities that will be occurring, such as immediate study in a dedicated lab facility.

  • Rhaedas@fedia.io
    0·
    11 days ago

    Space is hard to get to, no gravity, and there’s radiation.

    Underwater has high pressure, corrosion, and no natural lighting.

    When you get an air leak in space, you find the hole and patch it. When you get a leak underwater, you don’t have to worry about it at all because it takes care of things in microseconds.

  • Blackout@fedia.io
    0·
    11 days ago

    I have an idea. Let’s stick all of the world’s billionaires into a submarine and see if lightning strikes twice.

  • eleitl@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    9 days ago

    A friend of mine has just broken the record of 100 days living under water. He is aiming for 120 days.