# Titanic tourist submarine missing 6-19-2023 (Debris field found, passengers presumed dead. 06-22-23) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [June 19, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781 "2023-06-19T16:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/281 "2023-06-21T19:22:14Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Movies show us sailors running from rising interior floods because we can imagine that’s what it would be like, but apparently the physical behavior of water at that depth and pressure is totally at odds with our intuitive extrapolations from ordinary sea-level experience. Well, also, those scenes are usually from movies about military submarines, which are both more durable (including multiple airtight compartments) and operate at a much shallower depth than the _Titan_. _The Abyss_ did have a [pretty memorable scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkhBPF4yfkI) of what happens when you lose hull integrity at crush depths. If nothing else, at least it would be _very_ quick. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/282 "2023-06-21T19:28:16Z")
Here is a video of a railroad tank car imploding in a split second, at only a tiny fraction of the pressures involved with a submersible under the ocean. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Zz95_VvTxZM/hqdefault.jpg "Railroad tank car vacuum implosion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz95_VvTxZM) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/283 "2023-06-21T19:30:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Not a temperature frequently encountered where I live but theoretically possible if it was sitting on pavement on a hot summer day. Checking the surface and internal temperatures were part of the pre-flight. I once went camping in a backpacker’s tent that was suspended from two fiberglass rods forced into an arch in an X shape. One morning the weather prediction was rain so I zipped everything up and threw the rain fly over all and cinched it down. Instead of rain it was clear and sunny all day and when I got back the top of the tent looked… peaky instead of round. Pulling back the rain fly revealed that, trapped between the fly and the tent in the hot sun, the resin in the poles had softened to the point of letting them kink at the top of the two arches, the point of highest stress. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/284 "2023-06-21T19:37:19Z")
For this reason you’ll notice that most composite aircraft are painted white (as was the sub). Dark colored composites can reach dangerous surface temperatures in the sun, causing delamination and severely weakening the material. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/285 "2023-06-21T19:38:53Z")
Cancel. Already covered. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/286 "2023-06-21T19:45:34Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Morbid humor is always apropos for those of us who are merely observing the horrible spectacle. I remember my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Kapchinsky, getting pissed at me for repeating the Needs Another Seven Astronauts joke. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/287 "2023-06-21T19:58:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > _The Abyss_ did have a [pretty memorable scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkhBPF4yfkI) of what happens when you lose hull integrity at crush depths. If nothing else, at least it would be _very_ quick. - My first thought is that the thin spray should have had enough pressure behind it to cut him in half. Instead, we see Coffey get creamed. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/288 "2023-06-21T20:10:47Z")
Yeah, I suspect the “cracking glass” part wouldn’t actually happen like that - as soon as the first crack formed, I suspect the entire dome would shatter. I don’t think a passenger would have enough time to notice it was failing before they were turned into paste. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/289 "2023-06-21T20:12:14Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Can I use a game controller to achieve negative buoyancy? Isn’t negative buoyancy one of the issues the craft needs to overcome? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/290 "2023-06-21T20:18:40Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I remember my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Kapchinsky, getting pissed at me for repeating the Needs Another Seven Astronauts joke. I went to high school with Michael Jackson. (No, not _that_ Michael Jackson. This one changed his name later to avoid confusion.) He aspired to be a stand-up comic. In 1986 he was on stage at the Antelope Valley Fair. He made a paper airplane, lit it on fire, and threw it. He said something like ‘And there’s the _Challenger_…’ For those who don’t know, the Antelope Valley is in the western Mojave Desert where the Space Shuttles were built, tested, and often landed. His ‘joke’ did not go over well. ---
**Author:** ![hostility](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hostility](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hostility)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/291 "2023-06-21T20:19:22Z")
[Carlin, too.](https://youtu.be/fz8nyQMtMpE) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/292 "2023-06-21T20:30:01Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > His ‘joke’ did not go over well. - A really insensitive person would say it crashed and burned. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/293 "2023-06-21T20:41:53Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Here is a video of a railroad tank car imploding in a split second, at only a tiny fraction of the pressures involved with a submersible under the ocean. Wow! and “tiny fraction” doesn’t do it justice. That tank was subject to _one_ atmosphere of pressure, the Titan is probably subjected to 400 times that. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/294 "2023-06-21T20:56:46Z")
Yeah, that crush scene is OK (minus the cracking glass), but the opening act of _The Abyss_ has a military sub crashing underwater and sinking beyond its fail depth, and as the hull ruptures we get lots of scenes of water slowly flooding through compartments as sailors flee in terror. It’s a very intense scene, but it’s not really a documentary. That said, I love _The Abyss_ a lot, despite its wonkiness and cherry-picked realism. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/295 "2023-06-21T20:57:52Z")
Perhaps the banging noises were the passengers brawling with each other out of sheer frustration, or in the interest of oxygen theft? My question is, if they are recovered alive, will these billionaires say “_thank you_” or will they say “_here’s $10M to help with the cost of the S&R_” ? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/296 "2023-06-21T20:58:31Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > My question is, if they are recovered alive, will these billionaires say “_thank you_” or will they say “_here’s $10M to help with the cost of the S&R_” ? - Neither. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/297 "2023-06-21T20:59:10Z")
They didn’t get rich by writing checks… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/298 "2023-06-21T21:16:59Z")
The cost of the search operation should be charged to the guy who made the decisions to cut corners on safety – and that cost is considerable, involving ships and aircraft and other resources from at least three countries. ---
**Author:** ![DETXL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/detxl/32/19366_2.png) [@DETXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DETXL)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/299 "2023-06-21T21:29:01Z")
Yes, at certain pressures, hull failure means the hull ceases to factor into the equation, for all intents and purposes (“[it is reasonable to ignore the influence of structure on implosion](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468013322000110),” as one paper puts it, after mentioning ceramic pressure hulls turning into powder). USS Scorpion imploded in 37 milliseconds. You would not notice anything before being crushed (or incinerated due to the air compression—at 3500 meters that’s something like 1300°C). So if that were to happen (as was noted, the 2018 legal complaint says the porthole was only certified to 1300 meters when they planned to dive to 4,000) there would not be any meaningful time to notice. (Hopefully it is not what happened and Stockton Rush can be hauled up to the surface to account for all this. But that seems like a long shot, unfortunately) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/300 "2023-06-21T21:40:12Z")
Overall I find it fitting the CEO is down there, not one of his employees. if by some miracle they get out alive, I expect Stockton Rush’s attitude to safety features will be … changed … by his experience. As to jokes, my all-time favorite _Challenger_ joke was this one: > **Q:** What kind of teacher was Christa McAuliffe? > **A:** Science. But by noon she was history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=16)