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An update on that solar powered submarine idea that we brought you a few months back. The Swiss think that they can actually pull this off. Projekt Goldfisch aims to create a submarine that will recharge at a floating solar platform, and then be able to dive to depths of up to 200 m in the Swiss lake of Thun just north of the Alps.
The project is being sponsored by a Swiss utility company, and they hope that it will prove that these floating solar power stations will be useful for charging more than just submarines. So, yeah, it's more than a tourist attraction...it's a pilot project!
The full feasibility study (PDF) isn't translated all that well, but it looks as if the project is going to be pretty expensive, and that it will have a large tourism component. Can you imagine lumbering to the bottom of a Swiss lake in a vehicle that contains millions of volts of electricity! Sounds like...well, sounds like a good step to solar power-producing floating platforms anyway.
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written by Steve Hussey, December 31, 2008
I hate to say this but all submarines were diesel-electric until the invention of the nuclear submarine. The ran on diesel to charge the batteries, then switched to battery power for roughly a day, then surfaced or used a snorkel to run the diesel engines to charge the batteries. All modern-day research submarines use battery pay for their underwater work. Another note - they use electricity underwater to weld!
I am not saying this use is a good idea biut it can/will work.
Steve
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written by John Thompson, December 31, 2008
John T.
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written by mikelinpa, December 31, 2008
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written by EV, December 31, 2008
So, what happens if a sub is down and the battery is not sufficient to bring it back up? I imagine it takes power just to pump the ballast out for an emergency surfacing.
It's called an emergency blow. Submarines have pressurized air they use to clear out the ballast tanks in an emergency. If you've ever seen a video where a submarine's nose rises above the surface, that is one example of this. Research subs also carry ballast that they can drop with a mechanical lever. Without it, they rise very quickly. With it, they are approximately neutral buoyancy.
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If so, then aren't there going to be significant energy losses, from storage and transfer of energy? (i.e. solar panels->platform battery, platform battery->submarine battery, submarine battery->submarine engine/propellers).
A power cord connecting the platform to the submarine would be more efficient (i.e. solar panels->engine/propellers) [assuming there would be no problem with the actual cord itself).
But overall, I still don't think battery and energy storage technology is advanced/efficient enough yet to use renewable energy in ways other than directly.