Triton 36,000 Submarine Has A Glass Dome That Gets Stronger As It Dives

Back on April 6, we first talked about billionaire Richard Branson's new Virgin Oceanic project that had a cool looking submarine with the goal of diving to the bottom of the deepest trenches in the ocean just to see what's there. Branson and his project aren't the only folks set on exploring the deepest recesses of the ocean in specially built, high-tech submarines. Another interesting sub has surfaced today and is called the Triton 36,000.

The Triton 36,000 isn't as cool looking as the Virgin Oceanic sub that looks more like an airplane that a traditional sub. The Triton has a very high tech clear dome where the pilot and co-pilot sit that is made by a company called Rayotek Scientific. The special dome reacts to increasing pressure exerted against it as it dives to deeper depths. The more pressure on the dome the stronger the dome gets. The material that the demo is made from is called borosilicate glass (soda-lime) and it will allow the Triton to reach the deepest part of the sea.

The goal of the submarine and its operators is to descend into the deepest part of the deepest oceanic trench on earth called the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. The sub will be able to descend at a rate of 500 feet per minute and reach the bottom of the ocean in 75 minutes. The special dome took eight months to construct and was made by carefully heating and cooling the raw materials.

[via The Scuttlefish]