The Memoir Of Ms. Butterfly

The submersible “Titan” that recently garnered much of the world’s attention experienced a “catastrophic implosion,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The tragic result, authorities said, is that the five onboard occupants are presumed to have died during the implosion.

How does such an implosion happen, and what impact would it have had on Titan’s crew? Northeastern Global News reached out to Arun Bansil, a distinguished professor of physics at Northeastern, to provide a basic overview of the physics involved and its violent consequences. Quite simply, an implosion is the opposite of an explosion. In a blast, the force acts outwards, but in an implosion, the force acts inwards. When a submersible is deep in the ocean, it experiences a point on its surface due to water pressure. The vessel implodes violently when this force becomes more significant than the force hull can withstand.

Implosions like explosions are very violent. As the hull breaks apart under the enormous external pressure, a lot of energy is released, and the five occupants would have died instantly. The occupants would not have experienced pain or realized what hit them. The key is the design of the hull that protects the vessel against the considerable external water pressure that is trying to crush the hull. Much of the existing technology is based on steel, titanium, and aluminum. The performance of these materials under extreme stress is well understood.

By NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY JULY 3, 2023

The submersible “Titan” suffered a catastrophic implosion due to extreme water pressure, causing the presumed deaths of all five occupants. The failure is believed to have occurred due to the experimental design of the vessel’s hull, primarily made of less-durable, less-understood carbon fibers instead of traditional materials. (Artist’s concept of a submarine implosion.)

The submersible “Titan” that recently garnered much of the world’s attention experienced a “catastrophic implosion,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The tragic result, authorities said, is that the five onboard occupants are presumed to have died during the implosion.

How does such an implosion happen, and what impact would it have had on Titan’s crew? Northeastern Global News reached out to Arun Bansil, a distinguished professor of physics at Northeastern, to provide a basic overview of the physics involved and its violent consequences.

The brief conversation has been edited for clarity.

Quite simply, an implosion is the opposite of an explosion. In a blast, the force acts outwards, but in an implosion, the force acts inwards. When a submersible is deep in the ocean, it experiences a point on its surface due to water pressure. The vessel implodes violently when this force becomes more significant than the force hull can withstand.

Implosions like explosions are very violent. As the hull breaks apart under the enormous external pressure, a lot of energy is released, and the five occupants would have died instantly. The occupants would not have experienced pain or realized what hit them.

The key is the design of the hull that protects the vessel against the considerable external water pressure that is trying to crush the hull. Much of the existing technology is based on steel, titanium, and aluminum. The performance of these materials under extreme stress is well understood.

However, the Titan’s hull had an experimental design. It mainly used carbon fibers, which have the advantage of being lighter than titanium or steel, so Titan could have more space for passengers. However, the properties of carbon fibers for marine applications need to be better understood. It can crack and break suddenly.

The submersible “Titan” that recently garnered much of the world’s attention experienced a “catastrophic implosion,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The tragic result, authorities said, is that the five onboard occupants are presumed to have died during the implosion.
How does such an implosion happen, and what impact would it have had on Titan’s crew? Northeastern Global News reached out to Arun Bansil, a distinguished professor of physics at Northeastern, to provide a basic overview of the physics involved and its violent consequences. Quite simply, an implosion is the opposite of an explosion. In a blast, the force acts outwards, but in an implosion, the force acts inwards. When a submersible is deep in the ocean, it experiences a point on its surface due to water pressure. The vessel implodes violently when this force becomes more significant than the force hull can withstand.

Implosions like explosions are very violent. As the hull breaks apart under the enormous external pressure, a lot of energy is released, and the five occupants would have died instantly. The occupants would not have experienced pain or realized what hit them. The key is the design of the hull that protects the vessel against the considerable external water pressure that is trying to crush the hull. Much of the existing technology is based on steel, titanium, and aluminum. The performance of these materials under extreme stress is well understood.

By NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY JULY 3, 2023
The submersible “Titan” suffered a catastrophic implosion due to extreme water pressure, causing the presumed deaths of all five occupants. The failure is believed to have occurred due to the experimental design of the vessel’s hull, primarily made of less-durable, less-understood carbon fibers instead of traditional materials. (Artist’s concept of a submarine implosion.)
The submersible “Titan” that recently garnered much of the world’s attention experienced a “catastrophic implosion,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The tragic result, authorities said, is that the five onboard occupants are presumed to have died during the implosion.
How does such an implosion happen, and what impact would it have had on Titan’s crew? Northeastern Global News reached out to Arun Bansil, a distinguished professor of physics at Northeastern, to provide a basic overview of the physics involved and its violent consequences.
The brief conversation has been edited for clarity.

Quite simply, an implosion is the opposite of an explosion. In a blast, the force acts outwards, but in an implosion, the force acts inwards. When a submersible is deep in the ocean, it experiences a point on its surface due to water pressure. The vessel implodes violently when this force becomes more significant than the force hull can withstand.

Implosions like explosions are very violent. As the hull breaks apart under the enormous external pressure, a lot of energy is released, and the five occupants would have died instantly. The occupants would not have experienced pain or realized what hit them.

The key is the design of the hull that protects the vessel against the considerable external water pressure that is trying to crush the hull. Much of the existing technology is based on steel, titanium, and aluminum. The performance of these materials under extreme stress is well understood.
However, the Titan’s hull had an experimental design. It mainly used carbon fibers, which have the advantage of being lighter than titanium or steel, so Titan could have more space for passengers. However, the properties of carbon fibers for marine applications need to be better understood. It can crack and break suddenly.
Also, Titan had previously gone for deep sea dives a few times, which would have contributed to the fatigue of the hull to, make the hull more prone to catastrophic failure.

A massive search operation is underway in an area twice the size of Connecticut for the submersible that went missing Sunday – as officials fear there’s less than a day’s worth of oxygen left on board the craft.
Salvage equipment: A US Navy salvage system capable of retrieving objects or vessels off the bottom of the ocean floor has reached St. John’s, Newfoundland, but it has yet to leave for the site in the North Atlantic.
Banging sounds: The U.S. Coast Guard said it has not identified the source of banging noises picked up by sonar Tuesday and Wednesday during the search.
Who’s on board: The sub is carrying five people — a British adventurer, a French diver, a Pakistani father and son, and the founder of OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operated the tour to the Titanic wreck

All passengers are believed to be lost after a desperate dayslong search for a submersible carrying five people who vanished while on a tour of the Titanic wreckage off Newfoundland, Canada.
The 21-foot deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. According to the United States Coast Guard, coordinating the multinational search and rescue efforts, that amount of breathable air was forecast to run out on Thursday morning. At a press conference Saturday, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board officials said they have begun speaking with people on board the Polar Prince, which launched the ill-fated Titan submersible.
On Saturday morning, the Polar Prince returned to its port, St. John’s, Newfoundland.
“I would say that we’ve received full cooperation,” TSB Director of Marine Investigations Clifford Harvey said. “It’s been an excellent interaction thus far and is really getting full cooperation with all the individuals involved.”
In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they are “examining the circumstances” of the deaths on board Titan and will launch a full investigation if “the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.”

A defense budget expert estimates that once the U.S. military participation concludes, the search and rescue mission of the five passengers on the Titan submersible will cost the U.S. around $1.5 million.
Mark Cancian, a senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, came up with the estimate based on aircraft sorties, cross-referencing the U.S. Department of Defense cost numbers, Coast Guard Cutter costs, and flying hour costs. He said some expenses have already been set aside in various budgets, with resources simply diverted to the site.
He emphasized that these are strictly well-informed guesses.
A spokesperson for the Coast Guard’s District 1 in Boston would not estimate costs so far, saying, “We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life.”

Also, Titan had previously gone for deep sea dives a few times, which would have contributed to the fatigue of the hull to, make the hull more prone to catastrophic failure.

• A massive search operation is underway in an area twice the size of Connecticut for the submersible that went missing Sunday – as officials fear there’s less than a day’s worth of oxygen left on board the craft.
• Salvage equipment: A US Navy salvage system capable of retrieving objects or vessels off the bottom of the ocean floor has reached St. John’s, Newfoundland, but it has yet to leave for the site in the North Atlantic.
• Banging sounds: The U.S. Coast Guard said it has not identified the source of banging noises picked up by sonar Tuesday and Wednesday during the search.
• Who’s on board: The sub is carrying five people — a British adventurer, a French diver, a Pakistani father and son, and the founder of OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operated the tour to the Titanic wreck

All passengers are believed to be lost after a desperate dayslong search for a submersible carrying five people who vanished while on a tour of the Titanic wreckage off Newfoundland, Canada.

The 21-foot deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. According to the United States Coast Guard, coordinating the multinational search and rescue efforts, that amount of breathable air was forecast to run out on Thursday morning. At a press conference Saturday, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board officials said they have begun speaking with people on board the Polar Prince, which launched the ill-fated Titan submersible.

On Saturday morning, the Polar Prince returned to its port, St. John’s, Newfoundland.

“I would say that we’ve received full cooperation,” TSB Director of Marine Investigations Clifford Harvey said. “It’s been an excellent interaction thus far and is really getting full cooperation with all the individuals involved.”

In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they are “examining the circumstances” of the deaths on board Titan and will launch a full investigation if “the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.”

A defense budget expert estimates that once the U.S. military participation concludes, the search and rescue mission of the five passengers on the Titan submersible will cost the U.S. around $1.5 million.

Mark Cancian, a senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, came up with the estimate based on aircraft sorties, cross-referencing the U.S. Department of Defense cost numbers, Coast Guard Cutter costs, and flying hour costs. He said some expenses have already been set aside in various budgets, with resources simply diverted to the site.

He emphasized that these are strictly well-informed guesses.

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard’s District 1 in Boston would not estimate costs so far, saying, “We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life.”