Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Euvreka/fast sub design/introduction

[JackThraven13@aol.com]

       Hey everyone,

       My name is Matt, and I'm new to the list. I've had the bug to build a psub ever since I was around 14 and first read of Fulton's Nautilus and Holland's sub (I forget the name) around the turn of the century, nevermind Ezra Lee and the Turtle. For a long time, I thought I was the only lunatic that actually wanted to sink into the ocean depths in a submersible of my own non-professional manufacture. Now that I see there's a whole bunch of you, well so much the better; I don't feel like such an oddball anymore.

       So I was looking over the emails the other day and I saw the email with the fellow and the wet sub with the battery and controls he wanted to keep dry. I started thinking that the water pressure would be the main enemy of such batteries and controls were they to be mounted in a box that could be opened to service the contents, because unless they were sealed in there really tight (i.e. A real pain to get at to service) water would eventually find it's way in and ruin them. What if water pressure could be alleviated, so that a welded spherical or ovalish countainer wouldn't be necessary? Is there any way to accomplish that by filling the void space within the battery/control box with an incompressible, non-conductive, non-flammable liquid? Some kind of silicon polymer liquid type of deal? I remember reading somewhere that back in the 30's a few guys went down 15,000 feet or so in an iron sphere whose bouyancy was controlled by a thin sphere filled with incompressible aviation gas. I might be wrong about the contents of the sphere, but the theory seems sound to me.

       So continuing along this line of thought, is there any reason that the same technique couldn't be applied to a housing attached to the botton of a longer, streamlined submarine that might contain batteries (A good thing to get outside the hull, if only to guard against hydrogen venting and act as a keel to keep the sub level) or ballast/ oxygen tanks (Also good things to have outside)? I dunno, I might be wrong, but this is my latest brainwave, and I wanted to run it past you guys. 

       I'm glad to be on the list

       Matt
       NY, USA