What makes submarines work

Electric power is also used to operate equipment, this is made from diesel engines and nuclear reactors. Batteries may also be used for electric power, and they may be charged using either a diesel engine or a nuclear reactor. Nuclear submarines have an advantage to diesel submarines because they can stay submerged for weeks at a time. Diesel engines can only be used while the submarine is surfaced, or at least using a snorkel, to recharge the batteries.

Once the batteries are charged, the submarine can descend using electric power. Because nuclear fuel lasts much longer than diesel fuel, nuclear submarines can stay under water or at sea for long periods of time, without having to port to refuel. Submarines navigate using global positioning system while on the surface, however, this will not work while the vessel is submerged. These systems are very complex and difficult to use, and very accurate at the same time.

They are accurate up to hours at a time. To locate targets, submarines use passive sonar. This works by emitting sound waves through water and allowing the sound waves to reflect off the target and return; by knowing the speed of sound in water and the time it took for the sound wave to travel back, submarines can calculate the distance to the target. This is the same technique that bats, dolphins, and whales use.

Water is also forced between the bow and stern trim tanks to keep the sub level. The submarine can steer in the water by using the tail rudder to turn starboard right or port left and the hydroplanes to control the fore-aft angle of the submarine. In addition, some submarines are equipped with a retractable secondary propulsion motor that can swivel degrees. When the submarine surfaces, compressed air flows from the air flasks into the ballast tanks and the water is forced out of the submarine until its overall density is less than the surrounding water positive buoyancy and the submarine rises.

The hydroplanes are angled so that water moves up over the stern, which forces the stern downward; therefore, the submarine is angled upward. In an emergency, the ballast tanks can be filled quickly with high-pressure air to take the submarine to the surface very rapidly.

Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. An example of a double hull design is the Russian Alfa Class submarine considered by many to be the hot rod sub of the Cold War for its incredible speed. Designed during the s, the Alfa Class submarine remains the fastest of its kind till this day, according to Foxtrot Alpha. Brit Lab, YouTube.

Whenever it comes time for troops to head out to the field, their leaders should always issue a mandated packing Related: 27 incredible photos of life on a US Navy submarine Submarines use ballast and trim tanks, which are filled with air or water to submerge or raise the ship.

Science Channel, YouTube Some submarines use two hulls—one inside of another—instead of ballast tanks.