Friday, July 18, 2008

Home-made submarine



... Tao Xiangli made the 1.6 tonnes submarine mostly from metal barrels and improvised parts by hand, reports Zhong'an Online.

"Metal barrels are possibly the best material for me because of their low cost," said Tao, a migrant worker in Beijing.

The 20ft submarine is cramped inside with room for only one person but it features pressure metres, monitoring cameras, a TV set, oxygen supply and headlights.

"Although the equipment is simple, it's enough for a basic submarine, and more importantly, it enables the passenger to see things clearly underwater," said Tao.

It took Tao more than a year of research and experiments, but he says the most difficult challenge he faced was not a lack of knowledge, but of funds.

"The devices for submarines are all expensive, so because I couldn't afford them I found a lot of inexpensive replacements," he said.

Tao said the basic submarine cost him £2,200, the equivalent of a year's pay. ... - ananova

2 comments:

highlight film « The Question Beggar said...

[...] Speaking of naumachias, it’s not that hard to build a personal submarine [...]

John Burman said...

I don't know of any kids or adults who make things from junk, in the so called 1st world - they go to the shop and buy one.
How will the engineers architects designers etc. of the future be any good if they have missed out on the creative practical experience that everyone had in the past OF MAKING THINGS.
I have seen how poor design has become in my field of Architecture. Its all "cut and paste" using CAD - and it has a sameness, one cliche after another.