bathysphere

bathysphere
/bath"euh sfear'/, n. Oceanog.
a spherical diving apparatus from which to study deep-sea life, lowered into the ocean depths by a cable.
[1925-30; BATHY- + -SPHERE]

* * *

▪ water vessel
      spherical steel vessel for use in undersea observation, provided with portholes and suspended by a cable from a boat. Built by the American zoologist William Beebe (Beebe, William) and the American engineer Otis Barton, the bathysphere made its first dives in 1930. On June 11, 1930, it reached a depth of 400 m, or about 1,300 feet, and in 1934, Beebe and Barton reached 900 m, or about 3,000 feet. Through these dives, the bathysphere proved its qualities but also revealed weaknesses. It was difficult to operate and involved considerable potential risks. A break in the suspension cable would have meant certain death for the observers; surface waves and resulting movement of the boat could have produced such a fatal strain. Because of these disadvantages, the bathysphere was supplanted by the safer, more maneuverable mesoscaphe and bathyscaphe.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • bathysphère — [ batisfɛr ] n. f. • 1928; de bathy et sphère ♦ Sphère très résistante reliée à la surface par un câble pour explorer les grandes profondeurs sous marines. ● bathysphère nom féminin Sphère de plongée, suspendue par un câble à un engin de surface …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Bathysphere — Bathysphère William Beebe (à gauche) et Otis Barton à côté d une bathysphère Une bathysphère, du grec ancien βάθος (bathos, profond) et σφαίρα (sphaira, sphère), est un submersible sphérique sans autonomie, descendu sous l eau à l aide d un câble …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bathysphere — may refer to either of the following: * Bathysphere (vessel), a spherical deep sea diving submersible which is lowered into bodies of water with a cable * Bathysphere (song), a song from the 1995 album Wild Love by lo fi indie rock artist Bill… …   Wikipedia

  • bathysphere — ath y*sphere n. a spherical deep diving apparatus (lowered by a cable) for underwater exploration; it is constructed with a strong steel shell to withstand high pressures at the ocean bottom. [WordNet 1.5 +PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bathysphere — ☆ bathysphere [bath′əsfir΄ ] n. [ BATHY + SPHERE; coined ( c. 1930) by BEEBE (Charles) William] a round, watertight observation chamber lowered by cables into the sea to a depth of c. 900 m ( c. 2,950 ft) …   English World dictionary

  • Bathysphère — William Beebe (à gauche) et Otis Barton à côté d une bathysphère Une bathysphère, du grec ancien βάθος (bathos, profond) et σφαίρα (sphaira, sphère), est un submersible sphérique sans autonomie, descendu sous l eau à l aide d un câble. La… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bathysphere — William Beebe (links) und Otis Barton neben einer Bathysphäre Eine Bathysphäre oder Bathysphere ist eine Druckkammer mit atmosphärischem Druck und wird für Tauchgänge eingesetzt. Das Wort setzt sich aus den beiden griechischen Worte bathys (tief) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • bathysphere — batisfera statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. bathysphere vok. Bathysphäre, f rus. батисфера, f pranc. bathysphère, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • bathysphère — batisfera statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. bathysphere vok. Bathysphäre, f rus. батисфера, f pranc. bathysphère, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • bathysphere — batisfera statusas T sritis ekologija ir aplinkotyra apibrėžtis Iš laivo lynu nuleidžiama rutulio formos kamera stebėti po vandeniu. atitikmenys: angl. bathysphere vok. Bathysphäre, f rus. батисфера, f …   Ekologijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”