Posted on 08/28/2014 3:57:51 AM PDT by lbryce
The "air bubble" theory that would allow a submarine to move through the ocean at supersonic speed could be closer to reality through the work of Chinese scientists.
Called "supercavitating," the theory is being developed into new technology by scientists at the Harbin Institute of Technology's Complex Flow and Heat Transfer Lab, according to the South China Morning Post, and it could allow a submarine to reach supersonic speed underwater.
The "air bubble" technology would allow a submarine to travel from Shanghai to San Francisco in less than two hours, if the technology can actually be pulled off, according to the newspaper.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Sorry I dont see the value of a super sonic attack sub.
More dangerous threats that China/Russia could put there $$$
Okay let say it is possible.
If it is running that fast how does it use it sonar to listen. Better yet find out what is in the water ahead of them.
ASM would have less time to hit target. Maybe just drop ordinace in its path and let it come to you. You ever hit a rabbit while speeding.
Where does it get enough air to create the bubbles for crossing the Pacific.
Might work for a missile, but the purpose of a submarine is stealth. EVEN IF you could supercavitate right on over to our coastline (and that’s a supercavitated IF), I doubt you could do so quietly. The second that sub made the jump back from hyperseaspace, it’d be a sitting duck.
There is no power source that could generate the amount of focused energy to bring this super cavitation about.
Until we/they have fusion reactors, they can fahgeddabudit.
The technology to do this effectively for a small torpedo, and giving it any range is immense...much more so for a full sized submarine.
As to defense against it, while in high speed supercavitation mode, it is going o be loud. Creating any disturbance in font of such a vessel (or torpedo for that matter) will collapse the cavity and the vessel will destroy itself on hitting the water.
The key against a torpedo would be reacting quickly enough to do that before the very fast weapon gets to its target. That was a major thrust of the defenses the US Navy had to develop in my fictional book, Dagon’s Fury: Word War against America and the West.
With a large submarine, you have to find it, and then prosecute it accordingly.
At this point the Chinese seem to be talking about a commercial operation...but how they could hope to compete financially against air travel is beyond me.
This idea has some interesting applications for cargo movement, I think.
cargo
yes, that is exactly what China is thinking about
Yup, GMTA and all that.
The time frame for their solving these hurdles is entirely dependent on how quickly U.S. government research into the problem progresses.
“My own experimentation with air bubbles has proven otherwise.”
You probably need a bigger bathtub.
those are methane bubbles
“The speed of sound in water is not 1200 fps; it’s closer to 4879 fps.”
Yes but they would be traveling in a bubble of air.
LOL! “What difference does it make”?
Alot of Chinese Marines drown?
They’ll work that out when they get to it.
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