[lbryce]

My own experimentation with air bubbles has proven otherwise.

[ArtDodger]

Just curious.. what happens to the crew and passengers when a supersonic submarine hits something hard enough to breech the hull?

[Vaquero]

Sounds like a bubble in the bath tub

[Dr. Ursus]

Bubbles are just for show!

[Recompennation]

Yep sounds like a lot of hot air. Heat of compression,combustion, exhaust, air up water down. Erosion/cavitation?

[Perdogg]

It is called Supercavitation.

[Pecos]

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is. Writers of pieces like this should learn one word, if nothing else. That word is "scalability". Learn how to spell it. Use it often. The Russians have built and deployed torpedoes that sheath themselves in air bubbles, and they can go upwards of 200 knots, as I understand it. But only for a short distance.

Shanghai to San Francisco is 6145 statute miles, along a great circle route, which would call for the submarine to burrow its way through Japan on the way to the West Coast. Also, in order to make this trip in the advertised 100 minutes, it would have to travel at 3840 mph, or almost twice the speed of an SR-71.

This is not on my Short List of Things to Worry About.

[ryan71]

The Russians did this with a sort of under water missile. Problem was it was point and shoot. It couldn’t maneuver well. Seems putting people on something like that is suicidal.

[Brooklyn Attitude]

It works for torpedos so they may be able to adapt it for larger scale but the amount of energy needed would be enormous. There is also the issue of transitioning from 1200 fps to regular speed. If not done carefully the sudden slow down would plaster the crew against the hull. I wonder if China is working on an inertial dampening system?

[BBB333]

Captain Sun Ting Wong

Navigator Wi Tu Lo

Chief Petty Officer Ho Lee Fuk

First Mate Bang Ding Ow

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

They’re working on a way to get troops in large numbers over here in a hurry. When they do, we’re going to find out that Sum Ting Wong. Just wait and see.

[ThunderSleeps]

Good in theory but. No matter what you do to reduce friction you still have to push a lot of water out of the way. To move the boat forward one boat length, that is the equivalent to the displacement. That takes energy to move xxx tons of water. Now figure how many boat lengths it has to move per second at supersonic speeds. ... You get close to an energy rate (power) figure. As Scotty says ya canna violate the laws of physics captain.

[9422WMR]

Supersonic speed = 768+ mph. Yea, in a boat. Crewed by Chinese.
What could go wrong? :-o

[Bogey78O]

This would be impossible, impractical, and expensive for subs. For a new class of intermediate range nuclear devices... maybe not so much.

[Delta 21]

3000+ MPH submarine, huh? Impressive.

/snort

[W.]

Didn't the Russkis try something like this, maybe a flying submarine tank or some such idiocy? Ok, not a tank, but it failed miserably anyways. I still chuckle over one of the raghead goon squads that built a scale model of a CVN and launched a sub to devise attack routines, but the sub sank. Brilliant!

I swear, the so-called civilizations of the world are constantly working to devise new ways to run, control or destroy the world. I say anyone who actively WANTS control is exactly the type of person who should be kept as far away from the levers of control as possible. Too much enthusiasm is not a good thing in some matters. Politicians and rabid cop wannabees are two examples come to mind first.

[Caipirabob]

It’s first practical application will be as an unmanned weapon. If they are already talking about using it as a means of conveyance, my first question is “How far along is the weapon?”

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I’m sure a hypersonic submarine would have no effect on living creatures in the water within five or ten miles.

[Joe Boucher]

sick PETA on their asses.
This can’t be good for fish.

[camle]

um.... if you put a vehicle in an air bubble, wouldn’t it tend to fall to the bottom unless it has some sort of air propulsion system in addition to it’s water propulsion?

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

It’s the same basis as when you fart in a swimming pool and fall to the bottom.