Since submarines are metal, they conduct heat from inside the ship to the cooler surrounding water. It is used for everything from cooling electronic equipment to cooking and showering. Some submarines can produce up to 40,000 gallons of fresh water per day. Most ships have special equipment that can remove the salts from seawater to turn it into fresh drinking water. Since submarines don't have access to municipal water systems or wells, they have to find a way to maintain a fresh water supply for drinking. This is done with dehumidifiers.Īs you know, humans can't live long without water. Machines called “scrubbers" use soda lime to trap carbon dioxide, removing it from the air.įinally, exhaled moisture from breathing must be removed to prevent condensation on the interior of the ship or equipment. Next, exhaled carbon dioxide must be removed or it becomes a toxin. A computerized system monitors oxygen in the air and releases fresh oxygen as its needed by the crew. Oxygen is typically supplied to the submarine from pressurized tanks. First, oxygen must be pumped into the vessel as the crew uses it up by breathing. In order to keep people breathing (and alive!), three things must happen. ![]() There's just one problem: no air can get in or out. When the tube is sealed, all the air available to you is now inside. Imagine you are about to be sealed in a giant tube with all your friends. ![]() We don't do anything with nitrogen or argon. When we breathe out, we exhale carbon dioxide. When we take a big breath of air, our bodies use up the oxygen. The air we breathe is made up of four gases: nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. The three biggest problems involve maintaining air quality, fresh water supply, and temperature. Living on a submarine might sound like fun, but there are challenges to life under the sea. In an emergency, the tanks can be filled with high- pressure air to return the crew and the vessel to the surface very quickly. This makes the submarine denser than the surrounding water, which causes it to sink.Ī supply of air is kept on board to fill and refill the tanks. When the captain decides it's time to take a dive, the air is released through a vent, and the tanks are flooded with water. This makes the submarine less dense than the water around it, causing the sub to float to the surface. ![]() To return to the surface, the tanks are filled with air. In order to control buoyancy, the submarine relies on special tanks that can be filled with water or air. This means the submarine captain can decide when to sink down into the ocean or come back up to the surface. Buoyant force works the same way on a submarine, a pirate ship at sea, or a rubber duck floating in your bathtub.Ī submarine is different from other ships, though, because it can control its buoyancy. This means the pressure of the submarine pressing down on the water is the same as the pressure of the water pushing up on the ship. Missile subs are usually big enough to carry commandos and launch them safely from their torpedo tubes.Like other ships, a submarine can float because the weight of the water that it displaces is equal to the weight of the ship. They are built to shoot missiles at far-away targets on land. They attack other subs and surface ships with a special kind of underwater bomb called a torpedo. These include cruise missiles and nuclear missiles. Their most important uses are attacking ships or launching missiles. These two things allow them to stay under water for long periods of time. These submarines often have a system which can get air from the seawater. Most large modern military submarines are powered by nuclear reactors. New subs were more streamlined and had no artillery because water dragging against the guns made noise underwater and slowed the subs. Sometimes they used their torpedoes, especially against large ships and warships.Īfter World War II better sonar helped the enemies of submarines to find and kill them. They usually attacked freighters at night, shooting with their guns and then hiding under the water. As in later wars, the main jobs of submarines were to enforce blockade and to sink enemy warships. The First Battle of the Atlantic was the first major battle that was mainly fought between submarines and their enemies. They were hard to see while underwater but it was easy to attack them when they were above the water and recharging. These submarines were dangerous for enemies. ![]() This power was then used to power the submarine when it went underwater. The generator would charge a large number of batteries while the submarine was above the water. A diesel motor would be used to turn a generator. The submarines were powered by a diesel- electric system. Many of these better submarines were created by Germany. Later, during the First and Second World Wars, better submarines were made.
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