Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 207 posts

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#111

Post by masklinn »

Geeek wrote: post #16
TheCaptain4815 wrote: post #13

If the sub imploded shortly after reaching the titanic, how exactly did the people on board die? Was it an instant pressurized death? Do they drown or something?

I am wondering the same. Everyone is talking about the rapid implosion of the sub, but can we assume that the bodies just got instantly crushed into nothing?

> can we assume that the bodies just got instantly crushed into nothing?

Bodies are mostly water, which is not compressible. So not really. But all the voids would have filled very quickly: the sinuses, ears, trachea, and lungs would have collapsed instantly. The bodies would also have been "pasted" against the opposite bulkhead to the failure, as unlike water the air around them would have been very compressible indeed.

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#112

Post by jacquesm »

ilyt wrote: post #100
phire wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That suggests it was the carbon fibre shell that failed. If it was the Plexiglas that failed (or other part of the end bell assembly), I'd expect the pressure to quickly equalise though the failure point and the carbon fibre shell to remain relatively intact and hold those end bells together. Though, I'm not an engineer. Maybe the rapid change in loading could result in the carbon fibre shattering.

400 atmospheres. I doubt it would be gentle thru any material. That's only order of magnitude off water jet cutter

And on a This was brutal beyond imagination.

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#113

Post by adamredwoods »

N19PEDL2 wrote: post #22
seanalltogether wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From that same article, I guess he got the recognition he always wanted. Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, told a Mexican travel blogger in 2021 he wanted to be known as an innovator who broke the rules. “I think it was (US Army) Gen. (Douglas) MacArthur who said, ‘You’re remembered for the rules you break,’” Rush told Alan Estrada, who documented his trip to the Titanic, including an aborted attempt in July 20…

You can't break the rules of physics.

pressure in Pa = water density x depth x gravity

if they lost contact at around 1h45m in a 2hr descent, maybe they were at 3000m depth (approx)? Therefore:

29341710 Pa = 997 x 3000 x 9.81 = 4255.6 lbs per square inch

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#114

Post by ilyt »

f38zf5vdt wrote: post #63
saberdancer wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their bodies are also pressurized at 1 atms, after being exposed to 400 atms they instantly died. My guess is that they were effectively vaporized/liquified. Much better way to go then suffocate in darkness.

Probably combusted? At 400 atms their biomass would compress into a gelatinous hydrocarbon fat blob with the oxygen present, resulting in automatic combustion. The amount of compression their bodies would experience is an order of magnitude greater than a diesel engine cylinder. The explosion would immediately be quenched by the surrounding water and the only thing remaining of the occupants would be ash. This would…

Went to see titanic only to get turned into diesel, horrible fate

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#115

Post by babypuncher »

f38zf5vdt wrote: post #63
saberdancer wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their bodies are also pressurized at 1 atms, after being exposed to 400 atms they instantly died. My guess is that they were effectively vaporized/liquified. Much better way to go then suffocate in darkness.

Probably combusted? At 400 atms their biomass would compress into a gelatinous hydrocarbon fat blob with the oxygen present, resulting in automatic combustion. The amount of compression their bodies would experience is an order of magnitude greater than a diesel engine cylinder. The explosion would immediately be quenched by the surrounding water and the only thing remaining of the occupants would be ash. This would…

Someone put Mythbusters on the case

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#116

Post by masklinn »

jacquesm wrote: post #96
kfrzcode wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something about this comment is terrifying even beyond the story itself. I'll stay a dry land lubber

Space is safer. I'd fly to the ISS and back long before you could get me into something like this.

Either way no one will hear you scream.

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#117

Post by qup »

jacquesm wrote: post #103
qup wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "before realization, fear, or even pain set in" is well within everyone's definition of instant death.

Yes, that was the point. You wouldn't even know what happened. That cargo wagon depressurization and implosion video linked from elsewhere in this thread is a very nice demo, but it only has one atmosphere to work with. And I can't even see the state change on the frame-by-frame, just a very brief hint that something is about to happen (slight deformation), and in the next frame it's all crumpled up and bent.

Well, if you had to die, that's sure a nice way to go about it.

Not that anyone had to die.

I'll watch the drone footage of the deep ocean, thanks.

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#118

Post by jacquesm »

WORMS_EAT_WORMS wrote: post #90

Almost as interesting as this story has been the comments online. Everyone, everywhere just parroting and re-parroting the same comments, attitude, pretending to understand the engineering with snippets from comments they’ve read, reactive talking points, etc… Very strange. Did anyone else feel like an alien following this story online?

Not really. I work with a company that does this kind of stuff (deep see exploration vehicle design), materials science is a tricky but very interesting subject. When someone seemingly does 'the impossible', subjects paying passengers to extreme risks and throws the rulebook on safe design out of the porthole you can bet there will be an entry in 'Risks Digest' at some point or another.

Carbon fiber is a great material, if used where it shines. For this application I don't think it is a good choice, even if it worked a few times. What I didn't understand is the focus on the electronics and the control system, those are irrelevant if the hull isn't going to work out.

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#119

Post by f38zf5vdt »

babypuncher wrote: post #115
f38zf5vdt wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably combusted? At 400 atms their biomass would compress into a gelatinous hydrocarbon fat blob with the oxygen present, resulting in automatic combustion. The amount of compression their bodies would experience is an order of magnitude greater than a diesel engine cylinder. The explosion would immediately be quenched by the surrounding water and the only thing remaining of the occupants would be ash. This would…

Someone put Mythbusters on the case

Yeah, it would be curious (if morbid) to see what happens to something like an animal carcass. In most cases of submarine failure at depth e.g. the USS Scorpion no bodies are ever found.

Re: Oceangate Statement, “We now believe that [all crew] have sadly been lost.”

#120

Post by jollyllama »

TechBro8615 wrote: post #46
pfdietz wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When death occurs faster than nerve impulses can travel to/in the brain, yeah.

For context, some numbers I saw estimated the implosion would take about 1ms, and it takes about 25ms for signals to travel from nerve endings to the brain.

So what you're saying is, there is a reliable means of death that is, in all likelihood, more humane than any practiced by states with capital punishment?
Post reply on HN