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A 16th-century Islamic painting depiction of being lowered in a glass submersible

Retired modern submersible Star III of Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Błotniak

Experimental Sub dive in Monterey Bay. In a radical redesign of the submarine, it "flies" underwater like a plane rather than using ballast like a blimp. The designer thinks that a variation of this design can reach the bottom of the deepest trench in the ocean.

A submersible , or bathyscaphe, is a type of underwater vessel with limited mobility which is typically transported to its area of operation by a surface vessel or large submarine. Used by oceanographers and marine scientists. Apart from size, the technical difference between a 'submersible' and a 'submarine' is that submersibles are not totally autonomous. They may rely on a support facility or vessel for charging of batteries, high pressure air, high pressure oxygen replenishment, or all of these. The main problem with submersibles is that they may be relatively small, holding only a small crew.

A submersible vessel has greater mobility, using propeller screws or pump-jets, than submersible chambers (diving chambers or diving bells), which are suspended from a cable and winch operated from the diving support vessel.

Operation

Submersibles differ from submarines in that submersibles typically have shorter range, and operate underwater almost exclusively, having little function at the surface. Many submersibles operate on a "tether" or "umbilical", remaining connected to a tender (a submarine, surface vessel or platform). It can dive over 6 miles (10 km).

ROVs

Small unmanned submersibles called "marine remotely operated vehicles" or MROVs are widely used today to work in water too deep or too dangerous for divers.

Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) repair offshore petroleum platforms and attach cables to sunken ships to hoist them. Such remotely operated vehicles are attached by a tether (a thick cable providing power and communications) to control center on a ship. Operators on the ship see video images sent back from the robot and may control its propellers and manipulator arm. The wreck of the Titanic was explored by such a vehicle, as well as by a manned vessel.

Among the most famous submersibles is the deep-submergence research vessel DSV Alvin.

See also

• Timeline of underwater technology
• Diving chamber
• Diving bell
• Benthoscope
• Bathyscaphe
• Bathysphere
• Narco submarine

External links

Look up Submersible in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Deep Flight Submersibles
• Information and pictures of Sport Submersibles
• U-Boat Worx - Personal Recreational Submersibles
• Acrylic Submersibles
• Personal Submersibles
• SportSub Submersibles

Sources

Polmar, Norman. "Bathyscaph." World Book Online Reference Center. 2008. [Place of access.] 26 Jan. 2008 http://worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar049420.

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